Depend On You
by hotaru4
Summary: K&K:Kenshin's last mission as a Special Tactical Operations Officer was to find a missing agent w/ uncanny psychic abilities. But can her life be worth the darkness and the danger and a promise to a loved one that waits?
1. Default Chapter

Depend On You 

**_by Hotaru_**

**Preliminary Notes**:  This is not the first time I'm writing a fic about RRK, but the first time I'm actually posting one.  I hope the prose does its job—I'm definitely not as good as Linay, Anna-neko, Kyaa-Kyaff, Aya Komiyama, Kamimura Kaoru, Chibi-angel, Dementedchris, Yuki, Kard of Dark, or any of you fanfic writers out there—but I'll definitely try.  So please e-mail me for your comments and suggestions.

For those who want to know whether this is going to be a K&K or a K&T fic, well, you can start picking out some clues yourself (though I tell you, I love unpredictability).  Besides, I think my pen name already says a lot!!! (he he he, as if that's really enough).  By the way, this is also an A/U fic, and though I would normally NOT retain the original names for the sake of plausibility (since it's most unlikely even for reincarnated souls to have the same names), I will make an exception here.  I believe most fans like me have some kind of (perverted?) attachment to the original names anyway, so…

This fic can be classified as Romance/Drama/Angst, though I wouldn't say that this is a DARK fic.  I haven't tried writing lemons and may come up with a rather poor attempt here (but what the heck!!!) and there might be a bit of OOC as well, just enough to keep the story moving in unpredictable directions.  So for you readers out there, enjoy!!!  Hope you don't flame me just yet!!!

**Prologue:**

Gloved fingers tapped against the receiver, impatience tightly controlled as eyes flickered from amethyst to amber, its owner pursing his lips if only to keep himself from struggling for words.

The silence was unnerving.  Darks fingers moved to resume its tapping, this time, its owner's voice sounding hoarse as he nervously asked.  

"Do I sound like I'm angry?"

A grin.  He saw it in his mind's eye as the man on the other end of the line snickered.

"That would be an understatement, Himura.  Your ki betrays you only too well..."

"Not if I could help it," he answered, hands diving into the pocket of his coat to resume its nervous fiddling there.  

"Had a tiff with your woman lately, or should I even ask?"

Amber flashed as the red-haired young man in the long black overcoat shook his head.  "Never mind.  I'd rather discuss the case for now.  So you think the girl's been kidnapped then tortured?  So what's new about that?"

"Nothing.  Do you really think I'd need your help if it's all that simple?"

"I thought I said I'm retiring, Saitou..."

"Jesus.  You're not even thirty yet.  Don't tell me your _significant someone_ got you convinced…"

"Hell, no.  It's just that…" the young man curled his fist into a ball inside the pocket of his long coat, his shadowed face suddenly taking on a more serious expression.  What could indeed be the reason?  He knew that the intel officer was at least, partially correct.  The retirement issue has most—if not everything—to do with his fiancée.  They've talked about this for years, about his job, how it's been pulling them apart.  She told him she wanted a normal life.  A family.  A house by the lake.  Maybe two kids or even more, even if it ruins her figure.  Despite the fact that they both share the same depraved reality constituted by criminals, cutthroats, and malcontents, they share an unspoken bond—a dedication to the goal of eradicating the filth and muck of humanity, she as a lawyer, he as an intelligence agent.  Perhaps that's the irony of it all.  He and his fiancée agree in the most important things—things which matter the most.  

So why is he still confused?

"Hey, still in there Himura?"

The red-head snapped his eyes open, his hand fisting inside the pocket of his coat for the second time.

"Yeah, Saitou.  Still here.  Can we discuss this over coffee?  I just realized I need to make a few urgent calls.  Why don't we meet an hour later?  Same place."

"I see.  Just do me a favor, Himura."

"What's that?"

"Stop thinking about her and start thinking about you.  Next time I see that lost kid look of yours I'd definitely bash your head into a pulp."

"That will be all Saitou."

The line went dead.  And the man in the black coat walked away from the telephone booth, his violet eyes now the color of rain pooling below his feet.   


	2. Sound of Sakura Falling

Depend On You 

**_by Hotaru_**

**Chapter 1:  Sound of Sakura Falling**

**The caress **

**Of invisible words**

**Leave me wanting**

**For the sound**

**Of their silence **

_When had my life really been this complicated?  _Kenshin asked himself minutes later, as he crossed the street on his way to the cafe.  He was thirty minutes ahead of his appointment with Saitou, wanting to indeed clear his head this time.  Not that Saitou's threat had any real effect on him.  He and the military officer had their differences before, some of them leading to ugly and dangerous fights—like that time, about five years ago, when his mission dragged the whole government into a scandal that almost got the highest official of the land impeached.  He was a secret agent then, whereas Saitou worked legally—whatever that meant—as one of the top officials of Japan's Intelligence Bureau.  

In other words… 

Unlike Saitou and his minions, he was a "licensed to kill agent"—an assassin, a hitokiri, a murderer even, if one prefers to be blunt about it…So many words for a painful truth that haunted his existence in darker days.  But the day was to come when the words themselves became outdated, like campaign slogans that didn't hold much truth.  He was asked—no, persuaded, by not so subtly life-threatening schemes—to quit the job.  Not that he wasn't looking forward to it.  He just didn't think that such a move can be accomplished by a mere change of names.

So when the political clamor subsided, they invented a whole new name for him—Special Tactical Operations Officer, or STOC as other JIB agents would call him in jest because, he guessed, "slit thy overgrown cock" would have been a more appropriate rendering of the title, given the fact that his new job forced him to "handle" in less diplomatic means, the most ruthless of criminals ever to walk the face of Japan.

Criminals which have no future, and all pasts to blame. 

_Slit THEIR overgrown cocks…_an investigator joked, not too jokingly, while he was interrogating a 45-year old rape suspect.  

_The hell what that means, _he muttered to himself, tasting the rain on his lips.

He knew only too well that it will take more than words to change the reality of what he was, and what the government needed him for.  Resigning himself to fate seemed to be the best he could do, except that of late, he had been finding it difficult to put up even a semblance of passive resignation…         

Perhaps the trouble began when he began to doubt himself.  Perhaps, it happened when he began to doubt everything the government stood for.

_Principles are not for cowards…_that familiar inner voice told him.  He pursed his lips at the memory of that acute idealism slowly fading out in his mind like a dream…  

Once, he believed that the only way to maintain peace is to prepare for war, and so, as an assassin's prerogative, he had taken an offensive stance in all his missions, convincing himself that sometimes, the best way to defend is to be the first to attack… That was no less than the same logic that gave Japan the right to head the UN Anti-Terrorist Campaign—a twisted logic that operates on the premise that between two terrorists, a government assassin should have the upper hand.  And so he fulfilled his duties like any good, dedicated soldier, wiping out by all means available, the suspected heads and leaders of the underground operations supporting terrorist activities all over the world.  And of course, the ignorance of the media and the rest of the world made all of that false heroism conveniently possible.    

Thinking about it still manages to unnerve him, and he felt himself taking a longer sip of coffee, gulping it down with a vengeance.

He was a murderer, an assassin, a bullet in the head of anyone who wishes to declare himself an enemy of the State.  In his own words…

_A fucking low-life.  _

_Shit!!!_

Demo…

He is also just a man…

And a man could have regrets…

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his cell ringing.  He picked it up, eyes still dazed.

And the sound of the voice on the other line didn't help.

"Kenshin?"  

It was a woman's voice, soft, lilting, almost musical.

"Hai?"

The question was tense, like someone had been interrogating him in a cell.

Not that it didn't happen before—to him, in particular.  

"Is something wrong?  You don't sound like yourself."

"Gomen, itoshii.  Is there something I can do for you?"

There was a slight pause.  Kenshin realized that his question sounded, well, too polite to be familiar, or intimate.  His mind tugged for something to say…

But Tomoe had beat him to it.

"I just called to tell you that I can't make it tonight."  

"Oh."  

Now THAT was even more lame.  Kenshin thought of making real conversation, but his thoughts just wouldn't leave him be, reducing his speech to monosyllabic babble.   

But the voice on the other end of the line merely chuckled, perhaps used to this one-track dialogue.  

"I know what you're thinking dear, demo, it's just for one night.   Actually, I wasn't expecting the case to drag on like this.  Tomorrow's the day that shit ass Shishio's gonna get his verdict so Kiyosato-san and I are meeting to discuss the details of our strategy."

Kenshin's brows lifted curiously.  "Strategy?"

"We're hoping to convince the jury to ignore some of the inconsistencies in the evidence, and come up with a guilty verdict that'll keep his ass behind bars for good—something like a life sentence without parole, which is the next worst thing to a death penalty with it being lifted and all… I'm sure you're happy to hear about that, ne?"

Kenshin was only half-listening though.  He nodded vaguely.

"Hai.  That would really be something to celebrate about I guess."

"Talk about celebration" the voice coaxed, suddenly becoming soft and sultry this time.  "Aren't you forgetting something?"

A pause.  Kenshin gave himself a mental kick.   

"Nani?"

"Happy Anniversary darling.  You really are, getting old forgetting things like that.  If I were half the woman I am, I'd really get mad.  But I know you've got a lot of things on your mind right now, so…"

_So understanding… what did I ever do to deserve her? _his heart told him.  "Gomen nasai, demo, I'll make it up to you, that I promise."

He heard her breath catching in her throat.  "Honto ni?"

"Hai."

"It's not too late to cancel my meeting with Kiyosato-san, so I can be with you tonight if that's what you REALLY want…"

A small smile tugged at his lips, accompanying the curious thrill that crawled down his muscles in excited response to the suggestion.  But his training reflexes took over, prompting him to repress such impulses without effort.  Still, to let her feel his lack of regret would seem almost…rude.   He sighed audibly.  "Iie, no need for that, itoshii.  I've a _better_ surprise right here in my hand and though I wouldn't want it to wait…"

"Better?  Are you sure?" she laughed mischievously, a silver tinkle of a laugh that was both womanly and childish.  "Can there be anything better than you and me in bed—"

"Itoshii!!!"  (*Itoshii=beloved)

She laughed again, this time, his visage flashing in her mind like a beacon.  She loved hearing that small panic in his voice—that worried, shocked tone that appealed to her as both prudishly old-fashioned and boyishly naïve, making her feel like some seductress teasing the hormones out of a teenager.  She laughed again, Kenshin's innocent face coming clear and strong in her mind.   

"Gomen anata…I sound crazy and I miss you terribly…"

His eyes smiled and she felt it.  "Me too…Please take care.  I don't want you exerting yourself too much on this…"

"I know.  You're heaven Kenshin, and I love you."

"I love you too…Tomoe"                  

 Silence.  Kenshin tucked the cell in the breast pocket underneath his long coat, his eyes shadowed as he pulled out a small black box from the lower pocket of his coat, and stared at the two rings inside.  _I may doubt a lot of things right now…Demo…I love you Tomoe… And I will never doubt that…_

. . . . . . . . . .

"Yamete!!!  Stay away from me, you hear me??? Don't force me to…don't force me to…"

"To do what, little chick?" the man laughed, holding her chin and bruising it.

She gulped for air, closing her eyes.

_Please, please make him stop.  Please… if there is anyone listening out there, please make him stop… please…_

"C-mon, show us what you've got, pretty chick."

She froze when she felt something clammy and rigid on her skin, lifting her skirt, and pushing its way to the depths of her inner thighs.  Still with her eyes closed, she let out a scream.

"Shut the fuck up and enjoy it, bitch!!!  You don't get something like this everyday!!!"

The pain pierced through her skin, making her lip tremble as the man began to adjust his position against her, his hands tremblingly adjusting loose clothing before he returned to her, pushing away the rest of her skirt and rubbing his coarse skin against her softness.

"Aaaahhh….this is so much better… so much better…Gods…" and he pushed down her head as he lifted her thighs up, his throbbing member waiting to be satisfied.

The initial pain was followed with another and another, the man beginning to grunt this time, as he pushed and rubbed against her.  Her body grew stiff as clammy flesh and the acrid smell of sweat filled her mind, twisting her insides, forcing her throat to restrain the juices that rose and threatened to spill out of her mouth.  It was nauseating.  

But the man—whatever lowlife he was—continued to push, sweat breaking out of his brow as his hands feasted on her thighs, kneading the soft, warm flesh underneath.  She cried as he pulled her hair back, his groans becoming louder, coarser, more rough and demanding.  

The spasms began.  

Another cry

Another scream.

But it was to no avail.  Struggle as she might, all her efforts were wasted on her aggressor who, in his eagerness to push himself to the climax, tore off the rest of her clothing, then bent down to perform the most filthy of acts.  

He tore at the opening of his trousers, then pushing his body against her to the wall to keep her in place, used both his hands to pry her thighs apart, leaving her completely, inevitably open to him.

Open to his hot, rigid, throbbing desire…

His groans grew louder, as he prepared for the final thrust.

But it didn't come.

The girl stared mutely at the body in front of her, slumped on the floor and lifeless.  Another piercing scream was heard.

It was her own scream…

A scream full of self-hate…

And perhaps, something more… 

But through the single looking glass in the room where the whole scene can be witnessed from the other side, someone was smiling.

"Shall we move to the nest stage of the experiment, sir?"

"No.  We don't want her to be completely exhausted.  Last time we've pushed her this far, she almost ended up in a coma…"

"Hai.  Demo, I'm afraid some of the wires had to be replaced, sir.  It seems that she damaged them severely.  And the energy plasma tanks also need to be emptied."

"See to it then.  Just make sure that she's not disturbed in the next 24 hours.  She's hypersensitive right now, and the slightest threat can activate her defense systems, and overload the circuits.  If that happens, we might have to shut down the facility as we did before, and that would get some people to suspect…I really don't want that right now…not in this crucial stage of the process…"  

"Hai, Dr. Yukishiro…"

. . . . . . . . . . 

"So, the girl has been missing for two months."

Kenshin didn't mean to sound tired, but he was.  No use feigning interest in a case that doesn't seem in the least interesting.  After all, he had handled more gruesome cases, where the lives of hundreds and even thousands had been at stake.

But this… this is just about a girl…

He rubbed his temple.  _Well… what if she just ran away with her boyfriend…or maybe decided to have herself kidnapped to extort money?  That certainly happened before._

Kenshin was about to say this to Saitou, but caught the glimmer in the other's eyes.  _No.  There must be some better way of telling Saitou that I'm not interested in the case._

He pondered over bits and pieces of the information Saitou just gave him, rubbing one sore temple in the process.  Then, something dawned on him.  

Kenshin eyed the _Information Specialist_ shrewdly, forcing him to bristle in feigned shock.  

"Something tells me you want more than plain simple advice from me about this case…"

Saitou eyed him glumly.  "What do you think?"

Kenshin understood the stare and turned away from it.  "I don't do that sort of thing anymore, if you'd like to know…"

"Hnnn" the detective in the long blue coat snickered, his eyes a deep gray shimmer.  "Can't even say it Himura?  We both know that this 'sort of thing' is nothing more than cold-blooded murder, and that's the ONLY thing you're really good at, if I do recall…"

Kenshin snorted.  "I thought you hate that part of my job."

"Well then, consider this an exception."

"And you think it's all that simple?" he asked, a little impatiently, eyes turning amber for two seconds.  Saitou snickered, almost satisfied to have seen this side of the ex-assassin.  He knew that _that _side of him has never really completely left, and can be put to good use, even if it meant finding his most deep-seated provocations.

"Because this girl is not as _ordinary _as you think."             

Kenshin stood up, almost knocking down the cup of coffee that had not been emptied even after twenty minutes of dull conversation with the officer.

Saitou watched him lazily, not in the least ruffled by this abrupt display of temper.  "Just where do you think you're going?"

Kenshin threw him a death glare.  "Like I told you before, Saitou.  I DON'T do that 'sort of thing' anymore.  And nothing would convince me otherwise …no matter how extraordinary the circumstances…"

"Even if this girl saved your life once?"

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned, violet meeting silver.  But the old deadpan face of the veteran took all his anger in, unfazed and expressionless, as one who had known more wars than all the deep scraggly lines on his forehead could say.    

"Don't play games with me, Saitou.  I'm not your pawn, so don't expect me to move forward like I have no other choice, just because the game was made that way…"

"Pawn?" he rasped, an amused flicker of gray lighting his eyes.  

"I don't trust you.  Not that you actually expect otherwise…"

"I don't know if there can be anything worse than your mind games, Himura" he finally conceded, sipping his sake with arrogant grace, white gloved hands deftly easing the saucer between raised fingertips.  "I mean, do you actually think the JIB would want a godddamn bastard like you back in the service to be the nice little policeman in the neighborhood?  If for one moment you believed THAT, then you're even more stupid and naïve than I thought.  The image may have convinced the god-fucking media to leave you alone, but you know that this foolish pretense will never do.  Deep within you, Battousai lives on, saving himself for the killing, which is not far from what I'm offering you to do in the name of those same shitty principles you and I call justice… But I guess I was wrong… At least Battousai believed in something… But the man that came to replace him seemed stupid enough to stay in his illusions, which I must say may have been the effect of too much pampering from equally stupid women like Tomoe…" 

"That would be enough _officer_," the ex-assassin's voice hissed, a sword sliding beneath Saitou's throat to graze the thin stress lines that marred the features of the older veteran.  "You let your ass do the talking for you again, and I'll make sure you'd be speaking to the devil himself!!!"

Saitou met his words unflinchingly.  "And on what terms do you make these demands?"

"On your life."

"Oh.  Are you threatening me Himura?"

"You know what I can do, Saitou."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Look," Kenshin grated, finally withdrawing the weapon as customers scampered towards the nearest exit, not even bothering to cast another look at the amber-eyed stranger in the long black coat with furious red hair.  "As much as I sympathize with your cause, I won't raise old ghosts to help you.  Battousai's dead remember?  You killed him when I…" 

_When did it really begin_, a voice asked, pushing through him the way forgotten memories do.  He willed himself to continue.

"…that day I walked into the JIB, with nothing but a scar and a sword to remind me that tools can have no beliefs…Because in a world where principles are discarded like old religions, politics is god and truths are nothing more than a blind excuse for changing sides…"

Saitou wrinkled his brows, a grin of amusement playing on his lips.

"I didn't know that self-pity makes you poetic…"   

"Perhaps you didn't catch my drift," Kenshin told him, leveling his gaze to settle on Saitou's gray ones.  "I'm neither Battousai nor his replacement killer.  Neither am I someone's savior, if that's the truth you would have me believe.  As for the fucking principles you think I still share, well, let me tell you that perhaps its time you let your ass do the dirty work for you…"

"My ass?  Of course, I understand perfectly Himura" Saitou told him, lighting a cigarette.  "I forget that mine belongs to the service, whereas yours belongs to that woman—"

Like lightning, a fist flew to his mouth, cutting his lip before he could even get the last words out.  Across him, fiery amber glowed madly, like embers in a rekindled fire.

By now the café was completely empty, save for the waiter who immediately went back to polishing tables, when Kenshin met his eyes by accident.  Needless to say, there was nothing that could get in his way should he decide to push the matter with Saitou beyond mere verbal argument…

Silence fizzled around them, like fire and ice…    

Saitou dared to look back, meeting the penetrating gaze that bore holes through him like bullets.  Kenshin simply stood there, a shadow with yellow eyes, black gloved hands tremblingly grasping the hilt of his sword, while before them lay a table broken into two, and shards of glass and ceramic littered all over the floor where Kenshin had literally pushed him.        

Stupid jerk!!!  What do I have to do to make you realize that all this struggle is useless???  How can one who had stained his hands with blood ever come to terms with himself when he denies the very essence of who he is?  When he denies the fact that his life could not belong to anyone…nor to any stupid ideal that will never accept anything less than its own illusions…

The girl had suffered just as much if not even more, trying to save everybody's ass…Yet here you are, you damn stupid twit walking away from her…

_But I won't let you…_Saitou grunted, wiping the blood off his lip with the back of his hand.  He got up, meeting the former assassin's gaze with calm resolve. 

Kenshin's eyes took in Saitou's cut lip and bleeding jaw unblinkingly, hands finally leaving the hilt of the sword that his fingers itched to draw and use as butchering knife.  

The mere effort drained him, like the first few withdrawal symptoms that left him breathless whenever he thought of holding a gun again…in those darker days… 

"Gomen, demo, don't ever provoke me again, Saitou…"

The _Information Specialist _ignored that, straightening up.  He was a good measure taller than the red-haired _Special Tactical Operations Officer_ but he knew that that had never been an advantage.  Kenshin can just be as intimidating, sometimes even more.   

"You would recall that General Kamiya saved your ass once by convincing the Tribunal to wipe out all records pertaining to your previous existence, Hitokiri Battousai…"

The old name almost made the red-head flinch.  Mentally at least.  On the outside though, Kenshin did not appear to be even fazed.  

"And what does THAT have to do with this case?  The General died two years ago.  And I don't remember the government holding me accountable for that as well…"

"No.  But the government holds you accountable for an important government asset he left behind…"

Kenshin raised his eyebrows.  "And what's that?"

Saitou snickered, his eyes spitting fires as Kenshin continued to give him a death glare.  "His daughter."  

For a while, Kenshin was lost for words.  He thought he knew everything about the General…

"Kamiya had a daughter?"

The question sounded stupid, even in his ears, but he had to say something.

Saitou only grunted an assent.  

"So how did this _extraordinary_ person save my life?"  Kenshin's tone was rather  sarcastic. 

"Kamiya's daughter was the informant who tipped us about the plot to assassinate the Prime Minister of Japan and the Secretary of the United European Community a few months ago, during the UN Security Council Meeting in Geneva.  In the same way she predicted the attempt to bomb your apartment and the whole quiet neighborhood around you while you and your girlfriend were busy screwing each other like hell…"

Kenshin was about to throw another punch at him but decided against it, gritting his teeth instead.  After all, Saitou isn't done with his report yet and since he needed to know the facts…

"Actually, I would have wanted it that way--you killed and wiped out from our records for good, but I don't see the reason why innocent civilians had to be in it too… Anyway, what is obvious is that you and your sorry ass wouldn't be here right now if that girl ignored the threat on your life and opted to worry about her manicure…"

"Demo…"  Kenshin started, pushing away the haze of indetermination overtaking him.  "I find no reason for this girl to do such a thing.  I don't even know her…"

Saitou was watching him with an intense glare, transfixed by the shift of color in the ex-assassin's eyes which betrayed the latter's emotions.  Right now, he knew that Himura felt confused and intrigued. 

And it was precisely the opening he needed to get through his thick-headed defense… 

"Don't be so sure Himura.  After all, that's one of her talents—the ability to read minds and know their innermost secrets—their identities, their motives, their emotions."  

Kenshin raised an eyebrow, curiosity winning over anger.  "What is she, some psychic?"

Saitou snorted.  "You can say that, although some would rather call her a pre-cog.  They communicate telepathically, entering any consciousness by sheer will, to expose its deepest secrets, weaknesses, and hidden compulsions.  Since they leave no imprint or trace of this activity, they make the most efficient spies, the most accurate informants any intel agency would dream of having.  Some pre-cogs have also been instrumental to other operatives working in a case…They can give warnings, enhance intuitive abilities, and increase drives and impulses crucial to one's survival in extremely precarious situations.         Now, do you understand why the military wants her back at all costs?"

Kenshin turned away wordlessly, his face hidden in the shadow of his long bangs.

"Anyway, just in case you're curious Himura," Saitou called out, his eyes glinting with amusement,  "call Katsura.  The government's put him in charge of the operation and he's willing to give you anything you want in exchange for this last _favor_…"      

 _Anything I want_…Kenshin vaguely thought, his mind throbbing violently… _How I wish it's that easy to figure out…_

**. . . . . . . . . . **

**"**Katsura-dono?"

"Speaking.  Is that you Himura?"

"Hai."

"I've been waiting for this call since yesterday.  Has Saitou finally convinced you?  Or have you finally convinced yourself?"

"Gomen, I can't really talk about that right now."

"I see.  Why don't we discuss it tomorrow then?  Same place.  You still remember?"

"Hai."

"Good.  I'll see you at lunch then."

"Hai."

"Until then."

The line went dead.  Beside him, something stirred.

"Who is it Kenshin?" Tomoe asked, her voice hoarse with sleep.  Kenshin moved towards her, draping his arms around her bare shoulders.  She smiled, planting a kiss on his scarred cheek.  "I swear that conversation sounded like it was classified.  Military business?"

There was no hint of anger or frustration in her voice.  Only curiosity, and perhaps, worry.

"Forget it, itoshii.  It's really nothing."

"See?  I knew it.  If that isn't Saitou, it's Katsura.  He's the only one you respect so much to be so polite."

Kenshin chuckled, amazed at his fiancee's acute observation.  "Polite?  Are you saying I'm not normally polite?"

Tomoe leaned closer, putting her weight on him, making him groan slightly, as her soft thighs caressed him underneath the blankets.  "Polite isn't the best word to describe a man like you, Kenshin Himura.  Especially, when you get so…passionate… about your job…"

Her voice was hoarse but soft, and it tickled his ear to hear her breath so close…

He pushed her under him, so that he was on top of her this time, his weight pinning her so efficiently right where he wanted her.

"I'll keep that in mind, itoshii… Demo, I'd admit I can't help being _passionate_ right now about my job, that is…"

His eyes just held a slight hint of amusement in them.

"Job???" she feigned shock, giggling all the while.  "So I'm just another 'job' for you ain't I?  …"     

"Oro…!!!"

"Stop that!  You turn me on when you do that Kenshin anata!!!" she laughed a delicious laugh, pulling him towards her by wrapping both her arms around his neck and biting his lower lip softly, sucking it.    

He almost squirmed at that, surprised at her sudden boldness, but finally lost himself in a few seconds, shaking off his momentary shyness by kissing her passionately, eagerly, ending her mock struggles, and drowning everything else with it, including his apprehension over the meeting with Katsura.

For some reason though, even in the midst of that kiss, the tiny little quiver of a voice in his head wouldn't let him be…

. . . . . . . . . .

Please… if there is anyone out there…please…make them stop…please make them stop… I… I… don't want to die here… Anywhere but here…

_Please… anyone out there…if you can hear me…_

He sat up all of a sudden, cold sweat covering his bare torso as he blinked, feeling the strange throbbing ache in his temple.  He had been hearing the same unfamiliar voice in his head as he slept, slipping in and out of his mind unpredictably, even interrupting his need to focus on more _urgent_ matters.   Speaking of those matters, he gazed at the folded blanket beside him, and remembered the passionate night he shared with the woman who shared his bed—the woman he intended to propose to that night but didn't get that far when she aggressively insisted that they deal with it in bed.  With the way things turned out, Kenshin never got to his proposal.  He wrinkled his brows, wondering how many times that sort of thing happened.  Looking at the blankets again, he spotted a small note on top of them, folded in half.  He picked it up, recognizing the familiar handwriting.

_            The dinner last night was the best._

_            The 'desert' after that, even better.             _    

            _Will call you tonight, I promise._

_                        -Tomoe_

Kenshin left the piece of paper on the desk beside the bed and got up, tossing a bathrobe over his shoulder on his way to the bathroom.

**. . . . . . . . . . .    **

The Himekami teahouse was just a few kilometers from his apartment, but Kenshin was an hour early for his meeting with Katsura, his face an unreadable mask of emotions.  He touched his temple for the nth time since he woke that morning, wondering at the insistent throbbing there that would come with the occasional sound of a girl's voice pleading to him, insisting on her need to be found… But where is she and why him?  He could not understand any of it, and was pretty doubtful that he wanted to, really.  All he needed from Katsura is some information about the case that will settle his feelings about it.  After all, when he decided last night to call his former superior, it was more to convince himself that he didn't want the job—that whatever the officer has to say about the matter is not going to shake him from his resolve not to get involved.

He knew he was doing all this for Tomoe… For a future that he's willing to share with the only woman he had ever and could ever love…

Tomoe… 

Then that other voice called out to him, shattering his calm resolve, his inner peace, the pretense that he wanted to believe was real…

_Please… if there's anyone out there who can hear me… please…_

It unnerved him to hear it…to have that presence inside his thoughts, like a ghost haunting an old familiar place in search of something that eludes.  Without admitting it, he wanted to know more about this girl—why she called out to him in such a way…with such deadly urgency that quickens his breath and churns his insides, making him weak with—

Worry?  Concern?  It was hard to tell…. 

But if it was some military strategy to get him involved, he would live to make them regret it…

Yet, the other possibility seemed just as crucial.  If the girl had indeed fallen into the hands of the enemy, wouldn't he do everything in his power to protect what she stood for?  The people she had vowed to serve against all odds?

After all, he too had once believed in those ideals…ideals he couldn't leave behind even now… 

Perhaps, Saitou was right.  In essence, he hadn't changed…And THAT is the crucial factor.   

Unconsciously, his hands reached out for the tiny box he had been keeping in the pocket of his long black coat.  The question would be painful, but it needed to be asked…   

Is he willing to be convinced this time--even if it could cost him the only dream he ever had and could ever have, with the most important person in his life?   

"You're very early, Himura.  I hope I didn't keep you waiting that long."

Kenshin shook his head, pushing aside his thoughts.  "Iie, Katsura-dono.  Actually, I needed the solitude to think things through, since I can't say that I'm entirely happy to be at your service again…"

"Yes, I've suspected that from the very beginning.  Maybe if you let me enlighten you about the subject, you will arrive at a much more favorable decision…"

"Maybe."  A slight pause.  "Then again, maybe not."

Katsura raised his brows, almost amused at Kenshin's demeanor.  Ten years ago, when Kenshin was recruited into the service by a friend who had trained the boy for years, Kenshin was the perfect picture of confidence and certainty.  As an assassin, he showed no apprehension nor reservation towards killing, accomplishing every task with deadly accuracy and acute objectivity as is required by his superiors whom he trusted without question.  Now, he could sense a different Kenshin—not an inferior one, but a warrior who is both wiser and more cautious, one who has learned to temper—if not eliminate—the killing ki that had made him the most intimidating and unpredictably dangerous assassin of his generation.  He doesn't doubt that the skills are still there despite five years of respite—due to the political scandals that terminated the agency and its _illegal_ operations abruptly—but somehow, there is more gentleness in his aura now, more subdued passionate eloquence which spoke whole volumes about the inner calm that this new person—the one who calls himself Kenshin Himura—doubtlessly found.  

And that, for Katsura, is something refreshing to see—a novelty as fragile and rare as sakura under the rain...  And for a moment he began to entertain doubts as to whether it's right that he should turn this man's life upside down by giving him back the world he had left behind…

****

**Maybe not…demo…there are far more important things than self-satisfaction, and important things require great sacrifices…**

"Would you like anything before we begin?"

Kenshin shook his head ever so slightly.  "Domo arigatou, Katsura-dono, but I really want to move on to this business of yours."

He smiled, noting the controlled intensity in the ex-assassin's voice.  He cleared his throat, sipping the tea that the serving lady in blue and white floral kimono quietly placed in front of them.

"Where do you want me to start?"

Kenshin met his gaze unflinchingly, his brows creased in deep thought.  "This Kamiya girl Saitou mentioned yesterday.  I'm not in any position to doubt half the things Saitou said about her, but I believe, Katsura-dono, that you are in a far better position to confirm these matters in detail, if you'd be so willing…"

Katsura grunted an assent.  "Aside from the fact that she's indeed the daughter of the late General Kamiya, the girl's also a pre-cog who's been working secretly for the government for the past ten years.  Her father didn't know about it until three years ago, but that's another story.  Anyway, what's important is the fact that the girl is a valuable military asset… the right arm that runs things from the inside so that our sorry asses could do half the job that we're supposed to.   Of course, even though the girl's NOT as mindlessly dedicated to our principle that the end justifies the means, she recognizes the need to do whatever is possible to protect the same peace her father dedicated his entire life to.  And since only the government has the resources to give her the kind of protection she needed from those who might abuse her talent, it didn't take long for her to realize that joining our team is the best option she has…"

Kenshin thought about it, trying to be as straight-faced as possible even when something in the last part of what Katsura said struck a familiar chord and disturbed him.

_Protection?  Iie…even the government can be ruthless… and I learned that the hard way…_

    

Katsura cleared his throat, expecting him to interrupt any moment now.  

Kenshin immediately shifted his thoughts to other, less disturbing issues...

"Uh…perhaps you can tell me a little more about her background…What she does for the government, why as Saitou says, she's doubtlessly a valuable military asset …"

"Pardon?"  Katsura must have been shocked at the directness of the question, and gave him instead, a quizzical stare, to buy him some time.

After all, this is Battousai…And those questions cannot be answered with less tact than is needed for the success of the mission… 

"Gomen, Katsura-dono, but you said she's a precog.  What does that really mean?"

"In her case?  Well, quite a lot of things.  After all, she's not the ONLY pre-cog we have, or for that matter, the only one who's actually working for a military facility.  Germany has one of the most advanced Precog Enhancement Programs in the world, but it's top secret of course.  As for Kamiya, her precog abilities include the ability to visualize immediate outcomes, predict probable occurrences and alternative events, intercept, decode, and scramble codes even before they reach their destination, and manipulate the minds of those who're normally good at keeping secrets…"

Kenshin's eyes flickered at that.  "Manipulate minds?  Can you be more exact?"

"It simply means that she can also be one hell of an information extractor, if you'll pardon the crude phrasing."  

He nodded at that, choosing to keep to his thoughts.

"The unique thing about Kamiya is that she has developed all these abilities naturally.  Moreover, these abilities have awakened at quite an early stage in her life.  The discovery was in fact, accidental, and happened when she was wandering at the facility and accessed the security codes and files of the main computer by means we have yet to figure out.  It was both remarkable and disastrous of course!  Imagine the entire military complex shutting down because Kamiya was unconsciously encoding commands to the central computer, which activated all nuclear weapons within an 800 mile radius from the base!!!  On the average though, the child was a good mind-gazer…I can still remember her nasty habit of mind-guessing what everybody was about to say, sometimes even picking out random thoughts, and forgotten memories with effortless accuracy…"

Kenshin's brows twitched at that.  _Pick out forgotten memories?  And here I thought that remembering is inevitable… _  

Katsura noted his silence but took it as a sign that he wanted more details.  "The girl is also an empath and a mind-seeker.  The former means that she's extremely sensitive to human emotions, and can, for that matter, identify possible courses of action which she may reinforce, or inhibit, depending on the objectives of the case.  Mind-seeking is a bit too complicated for me—something maybe Dr. Genzai of the Institute of Precog Development and Technology can better explain."          

Kenshin sighed.  _Mind-seeking..._ The more he thought about it, the more he grew uncomfortably drawn towards the mystery of the girl's identity and purpose.  If not for his old habit of NOT asking questions, he would have insisted for further clarification.  But he could only sigh, meeting his employer's curious gaze. 

"A talent like hers may indeed be lethal…and useful at that…" 

Katsura nodded.  "I know.  And to think that most research in precog indicate that those who do develop such abilites can only operate one ability at a time, with serious psychological consequences for the precog whenever he or she does…" 

Kenshin found something almost shockingly familiar about this girl.  He glanced away, noting the sight of falling sakura outside the window of the teahouse.  

"How old is this girl then, if I may ask?"

"She would have just turned seventeen last month."

Kenshin almost dropped his tea.  "Demo… that would mean…"

"Hai.  She started working for us when she was seven—less than half your age when you started working for me.  Which is why even that cold-hearted brick-head Saitou has as much sympathy for this case.  She has suffered so much, for far too long, Himura.  A child shouldn't be made to suffer so.  Not that we have given her a choice.  But we all have lived through this age because she made it possible.  She didn't have to, but she did.  The service owes her that much.  We owe her that much.  You understand what I mean Himura?"

He turned away again, refusing to meet the honest brown eyes that sought his agreement.  Somehow, he felt pity for the girl, and hoped that she had genuinely escaped the world they've trapped her in, against her will.  After all, he still believes in free will—even if the whole world seems to conspire to make it impossible.   This girl still has a choice to live her life as she pleases, and damn the military if they insist that a caged life—no matter how secured or protected—is the best.

Security? Protection?  Your worst enemy is yourself…and that's something nobody can protect you from… 

"Himura?"

He looked up, violet eyes narrowed in deep thought.

"You do understand don't you?  We need your help to bring her back." 

He met the older man's eyes confidently, but his inner mind was telling him something else.  "Maybe so," he answered reluctantly instead.

"Maybe so?"  Katsura said a bit impatiently, putting down his tea with a little more force than he intended.  He addressed the ex-assassin with a slight tremor in his voice.  "I would think that statement is rather cruel, if not deliberately short-sighted.  The girl has saved all our lives at least once—yours more than anyone's even…"

"Saitou has pointedly made that clear as well…"

"Indeed.  Except that there's no way he could have known all the details of her involvement with the military…and how she broke all rules to save your ass, Himura."                                              

This time, Kenshin did not even care to hide the impatient glare of amber eyes hiding beneath furious locks of red hair.  "My life is my responsibility.  Nobody asked her to be my guardian angel."

"Indeed.  I guess this conversation is not getting anywhere."  Katsura stood up, not even bothering to take a formal leave.  He signaled to the waitress, and handed her several bills to pay for the tea and the special accommodations they provided.  He then turned and left, as if Kenshin wasn't even there...

Kenshin left the Himekami teahouse minutes later, his face hidden by the upturned collar of the black coat swirling at his knees.  For some reason, his eyes hurt to see the sun shining through blue, cloudless skies above him, but he knew nevertheless that despite the chilling wind, summer must be close, as the sakura fell and landed beneath his feet, the muted whispers of their descent as loud as the urgent pleading that wouldn't leave him… 

. . . . . . . . . . 

**Author's notes**:  Kenshin playing hard to get?  Well, I figured that that has been Kenshin's attitude towards all government officials who have ever sought his help (in the manga, the TV series, the OAVs) and even seems to be consistent with the way he behaved towards Tomoe and Kaoru and practically all the women he met.  Besides, I was hoping to make his decision to do anything in the next chapter more poignantly revealing about his struggle as Kenshin and as Battousai, without being unfair to both.  After all, Battousai is NOT some blind, heartless, mindless killer like some fics would rather depict him, nor is Kenshin the exact 'baka' opposite.  I think there's always a middle ground between polarities, though it's quite hard to depict that with the extremes being fascinating the way they are… Besides, I'd like to explore how Kenshin and Battousai would contemplate an issue requiring both the decisive objectivity of an assassin (i.e. "nothing personal only business" kind of attitude) and the practical skepticism of a man who had made some wrong decisions in his life and has every reason to be cautious of his own compulsions.

            About Tomoe, well, she has more spunk in this fic, precisely because I hate to be unfair to her.  Killing her off might make the choice for our poor Kenshin so much easier and less complicated but I think that sidesteps, rather than confronts the real nagging question as to who, really, deserves our tormented Kenshin/Battousai's loyalty and eternal love.  Of course, both of them do, but as I do not intend Kenshin to be a two-timing ass-hole, I think he really needs to decide between these two women.  **(OK I'd let the secret out, I'm a fanatic K&K fan and I think Tomoe sucks, there!!!  Makes me feel guilty saying that, I'm such a bad-ass but I can't help it!!!)  **Still, I always TRY to work beyond the limits of my selfish preferences (and believe me, it hurts sometimes to have to contradict those preferences once in a while for the sake of the story), and since this is a multi-chapter fic with a still indefinite ending, anything is possible.

            Thanks for reading!!!  For those K&K fans out there, well, the next chapter I promise, is worth the wait.  Sayonara for now—until tomorrow that is!!!                                              


	3. Broken Path

**Depend On You**

**      by Hotaru**

Chapter 2:  Broken Path 

**When days are deep**

**And drunk with dreams' desires**

**I see you in my mind's eye and think**

**What could have been if we're together**

**Looking at the same stars.**

**Caught in the final distances of space.**

**Then I knew that what could have been**

**Is as far from here as the sound of stars**

**They mock me in the darkness**

**In the muted silence of the night**

**That promises no sleep.      **

Tomoe arrived at her apartment at half-past ten, tossing her bag and shoes at the carpeted floor as she walked over to the telephone to check for recorded messages.  She turned slightly when she heard a familiar voice address her timidly and all-too-politely through the darkness, urging her to grope the machine and play the message again, as if hearing his voice once is never enough…

"Itoshii, this is Kenshin.  Sorry to have to call you this late, but you weren't answering your cellphone this morning, and I know pretty well that you might be in the middle of something which I understand, really.  Anyway, how's your day?  Just want you to know that I might be busy tomorrow, but will definitely want to pick you up for dinner if it's alright.  I would suggest my place, but we've both been unruly lately… and there are some things I really need to discuss without the errr… distractions.  Hope to really see you soon itoshii, and good night.  Aishiteru.  And sweet dreams."

Tomoe smiled despite the heavy fatigue in her bones and muscles.  _I love you too, Kenshin Himura…and I'm going to prove that very soon if you'd let me…_

. . . . . . . . . . 

"What brings you here, Himura?  Sure you haven't lost your way?"

Saitou was seated on a tall swiveling chair, his face taut with mild contempt at the figure before him.  Just last night, Katsura informed him of the outcome of his conversation with Himura and how he flatly refused to cooperate, even when the details of the nature of the mission have already been disclosed.

Which is why the moment Himura had shown up in his doorstep, Saitou felt the strongest urge to kick him in the face, and shove his ass where it belongs.  To the gutter.

And he hopes it stays there for good. 

Kenshin meanwhile remained where he stood, gauntlet-eyed, and serious.  Not that he can be anything less than serious.  He seriously thought he'd die when he reach thirty, on account of this overbearing seriousness which added ten years to his already stressed out existence.

THAT, however, is a problem that could wait.

"I guess you and I need to continue where we left off, Saitou.  Katsura-dono explained some details and confirmed as much, but I still have a few questions, which I know you won't mind answering for me…"                                  

Saitou snorted, taken by the ex-assassin's sudden politeness.  "You're officially out of the Kamiya case so I have no obligation to discuss anything with you that's classified.  Now if you'd excuse me I've got better things—"

"I don't think you heard me right, " Kenshin began, his voice slightly tense and impatient this time, but nevertheless well-controlled.  "I think I know where your Kamiya girl is."

. . . . . . . . . 

"So, the girl's been sending you signals all this time and you chose to ignore them until now?  THAT sounds lame even for a novice Special Tactical Operations Officer, don't you think???"

Kenshin sipped his tea, trying his best not to meet the deep silvery gaze that shot daggers at him.

"I'm not a novice Saitou, though I do admit being a skeptic sometimes...You of all people should understand that it's part of the business."

Saitou grimaced.  "So what made you listen this time?"

Kenshin thought about that, his mind going back to the memories of last night…

* * * * * * * * * * *  

He arrived at his apartment at quarter past nine, feeling tired more from mental rather than physical exertion.  His immediate impulse was to call Tomoe, and having done that, he slid behind the kitchen counter, bringing out a small glass and a bottle of sake, which he poured into the glass, filling it to the brim.

At the thought of his earlier conversation with Katsura, his hand went up to his right temple, which had been throbbing that morning, making him wonder exactly how and when the pain started.  That throbbing, however, had not returned since that morning, and that made him even more apprehensive for some reason, urging him to reach deeper into his consciousness for answers…           

_Then, as if some divinity had heard his wish, he found the voice whispering in his head, more quietly this time…_

**"I'm here…Please…can anyone hear me?  I know you can…I can feel you inside my mind…so near…yet so far…Battousai…"**

_He bristled at that, shocked at the sound of his old name in his ears._

"Who are you…and why do you know that stupid name?" 

_The voice sighed, seemingly tired, boneless tired.  He only pitied her…_

****

**"You were my first assignment…" **_she answered, as if those words were enough to explain a lifetime of torture. _

****

"Please be clear on that.  What do you know about me…" "Not more than you know about yourself…" "Do you always have to be poetic?" 

_Of course, he had been accused of the same fault…    _

****

"Only when the reason warrants it, Battousai…" 

****

"If you want this conversation to continue, stop using that stupid name…" 

****

_He was getting frustrated and he can't even control it._

****

_Silence._

****

_Kenshin had to strain to listen, enduring the maddening throb in his temple as he forced himself to reach out even further._

"Where are you?  Kamiya?" 

**"Hai?"**

"You didn't answer my first question…" "Maybe because I didn't want to…Did it even occur to you to consider that?" "You wouldn't have any reason to evade the question…" "You wouldn't have any reason to want to remember…"   

"Just tell me…about this first assignment…" 

**"It was nothing unfamiliar to you…It was about Jineh…You needed to kill him…They gave me the rules, I was only the messenger… They told me that "the killing was to be done just so…"**

****

_Kenshin remembered it so well…It sounded so familiar, like those clichés in trashy, suspense mystery novels:  _**"The killing was to be done just so…Exactly as ordered…Any improvisation would be punished…"    **

His mind repeated it, like a mantra it has never forgotten…       

**"Demo…the first time you used that sword to kill Jineh, you cried… You asked why you felt so sad when you wanted to do what you did because Jineh deserved to die… Sometimes I wonder if my answer would have mattered…demo…after making you do what you hold against yourself, I can never be the one to console you…"**

_Kenshin stared at the murky depths of the sake in his glass._** "I do not need consolation…I am not the child you obviously think I am." **

****

There was a long pause.  He was surprised when the voice returned abruptly, sounding weaker, more faint…. 

****

**"Child or not, fears have their reasons…" **

**"I cannot afford fear.  Killing is not for cowards."**

**"Principles are not for cowards either." **

**"It was what kept me going."**

**"What kept you going was my own inability to protect you from yourself…"**   

**"Look…" **he told her, a little bit more impatiently this time.  "**I don't need anyone protecting me…I don't need anyone…"**

**"You don't need me to be with me, Battousai…because as much as you want to deny it, we are linked by a common thread…something you and I must live with if we have to live at all…**

**"And what is that?"**

**"A guilt that can never be broken…"**

_He could have denied it as she predicted, but it didn't feel right at the moment.  For at that moment, he felt nothing, sensed nothing but her agony, her struggle, her pain… Those were not unfamiliar, but try as he might to reach out to share that struggle, a wall stood between them…a wall that seemed to separate them invisibly, like space…_

_    _

**"You shouldn't feel my guilt…"**_he found himself saying, his mind clutching at the edge of that pulsating barrier which enveloped their thoughts._

**"Nobody else should be responsible for the choices I couldn't have changed, even if I were to start from the beginning…"   **

_Silence.  The ripple of energy was so weak, he felt almost afraid that she had broken contact completely, leaving him alone, trapped in the solitude of his own reflections._

_He tentatively pushed the barrier and it wavered, the energy connecting, vibrating with the familiar energy that allowed him to feel her weak presence through the haze…   _

"Kamiya???" 

**"Hai???"**    

"Stop playing god… You couldn't have had any power to stop things from happening, even if you dared intervene in making them happen.  After all, we are just catalysts of fate… Everything could not have fallen into place without everybody wanting it so, at the same time…It seems that in so far as we've allowed ourselves to be used, we are one and the same.  Just pawns…" 

**"Demo…" **_the voice suddenly intervened, surprising him. _"**You are not just a pawn that much I can tell…But there is so little time to explain…when you seem to have so many questions for me…"**

**"Kamiya…"**

**"This has been a very interesting conversation, Battousai… Demo, it's almost time…"**

His mind bristled with disappointment.  **"Time for what?"**

"Time to go…"   

****

**"Go where?" **_It was a stupid question he needed to ask._

"A place of childhood you don't need to remember…" 

_He shook his head mentally, feeling the coldness now, and shivering despite the warmth of his coat. "_**Iie…stay for a while…"**

"Sayonara, Battousai…or should I say, Himura…Kenshin Himura…" 

_Then there was complete silence._

_Kenshin flopped down the couch, his mind hovering at the edge of sleep. _**A place of childhood…How could she say that when I have nothing…**

****

Then a shock of memory assaulted him.  

**Nothing but torture to remember it by…**

**And this scar…**

The answer could not have been more crystal clear.  

* * * * * * * * * * 

Saitou's voice was hard to ignore as Kenshin sipped his tea meditatively, pulling back his mind to the present.  

"Do you know what that means, Himura?" Saitou was practically seething, shaking him out of his reverie.  "Katsura could have you court-marshaled for this!!!"

Kenshin shrugged it off, his eyes wandering idly at the tea before him.  "Not really Saitou.  As I've explained to you several times, the first time I heard the voice in my head, I wasn't sure whether it was just a dream, or some weird hallucination… Besides, the voice was not very particular about details… It never really bothered to explain who she was, and why she had been calling out so desperately for help…  Even if you and Katsura-dono had sufficiently explained about Kamiya being some sort of a psychic, I would have no way of recognizing 'psychic resonances' as you call them, since nothing in my previous experiences even came close to that knowledge…"

"So now that you've confirmed all this, what're you planning to do, Himura?" Saitou asked, disgruntled at the logic of the ex-assassin's explanation, which he had to admit was acceptable despite his feelings against it.       

"I need you to tell Katsura-dono that I'm accepting the job only if I can have a free hand as to how the operation should proceed."

"I don't think you're in a position to impose such conditions."

"I don't think you or Katsura-dono is in any position to refuse."

Saitou looked away, his eyes contemplating the odds.  "I don't think you need to be reminded that this case is sensitive.  We don't want her harmed in any way.  I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that she's not some hostage you can sacrifice when things get out of hand.  Kamiya has to be taken alive."

Kenshin narrowed his eyes, aware of Saitou trying to read his thoughts.  "I know that.  And at this point, I'd do anything to get her off my mind.  Her incessant calls and pleas for help are practically driving me insane."

Saitou smiled at that, his eyes crinkling.  Kenshin thought something must be amiss in the universe, for Saitou was not the kind who seemed capable of the slightest emotion, much less anything remotely resembling a happy one. 

"Are you trying to pull something off Saitou?" Kenshin asked, just slightly suspicious and put off at this untimely display of emotion on the part of the cold-hearted detective.

"Iie.  For a moment there, you had me thinking that you and Kamiya are quite intimately linked..."  

Kenshin blanched at that, but showed no physical indication of it.  Something about a psychic knowing one's consciousness inside and out would have caused panic in the heart of any man.  His secrets and fantasies, after all, are not THAT innocent to begin with…

He coughed slightly, turning away from the coal gray eyes that stared deeply into his.  "I don't think even someone as obsessed with information as yourself would endure THAT kind of link with any woman Saitou…Knowing you though, I guess you'd find some real use for it…"

"Really now?" Saitou asked, eyes glimmering in curious amusement.  "Care to enlighten me more about these random thoughts, Himura?    

"I'm leaving."

. . . . . . . . . . 

"Secretary Katsura?"

"Hai?"

"This is Saitou."

"Any news, developments about the Kamiya case?"

"Seems that there's a major turn of events that we hadn't anticipated, General Katsura."

The voice on the other line paused, suddenly intrigued but unsure.  "What do you mean?"

"Himura has agreed to take the job."

A pause. Katsura breathed a relief, his voice lighter this time, though tinged with the same self-conscious wariness that veterans had been known for.

"Any conditions?"

"A few quite manageable ones, actually."

"How manageable?"

Saitou's eyes flickered, his lips thinning into a wan smile.  "It seems that Himura wants full authority over the operation.   He also requests an early retirement—or shall we say, relief—from his duties as Operations Officer."

"And what do you think, Hajime-san?"

"I thought you knew him far better than I do to have any say in the matter, sir."

"An enemy's opinion is always insightful…"

"If that's the case…" Saitou trailed, taking a long drag from his cigarette, the smoke obscuring his face as he switched the receiver from one to the other hand, fingertips holding the cigarette tentatively.  "I think the bargain is more than reasonable even if I do not trust that Himura will NOT intervene if she lets him on the nature of the case… He is, after all, still Battousai, and if I knew THAT personality far better than this one, you would trust me when I say that he can be infinitely stubborn and thick-headed when it comes to certain matters of principle…"

"Matters of principle?"

"Deep down inside, the fucking asshole—pardon my fondness for Himura—is still an idealist…And if my guts are correct, an idealist is not swayed by anything but his sense of right.  His only rules are those of his conscience.  Unlike others of our kind, his ethics is more powerful than any primary impulse, even his cock…Though I guess, where that damn fucking attorney is involved, the two are equally matched…" 

Katsura was quiet for a while, pondering Saitou's words.  In the end, he sighed, a slight hint of regret adding several lines to his once youthful face.  

"Tell Himura that his conditions will be met.  But remind him Saitou, that should he fail, I will take up the matter with him personally, and deliver the full extent of its consequences."

Saitou grinned.  "He shall be reminded, Secretary Katsura."         

"Arigatou, Saitou.  I suggest you look after him from here.  Not that he really needs it."

"Hai.  I know what you mean, Secretary.  Until tomorrow then."

"Until tomorrow."

. . . . . . . . . 

Tomoe had felt the tension and agitation around him the moment he took her hand in his and led her to the table overlooking the sea, in the restaurant he had carefully selected for their date that evening.  Not that she should be complaining at this point in their relationship.  She had known him for far too long to have any unnecessary doubts about the nature and extent of his preoccupation.  She decided to keep quiet and take whatever he has to offer by way of companionship.

His companionship had always soothed her.  Never demanding and rarely imposing, Kenshin was an ideal she knew other woman could only dream and fantasize about.  She was fortunate that she stayed long enough to discover the gentle, loving man who once hid beneath the haze of hate, passion, and cruel idealism which was the Battousai.  She shuddered to think that the warrior still lurked in the depths of the kind, sensitive man who sat across her now, his amethyst eyes gazing out at the stars with a thoughtful expression in them which twisted her insides, making her want him more urgently than ever.  If only she insisted that they have dinner in HER place this time, then she could have acted on those precious impulses without a moment's hesitation…

She must have been staring at him so intensely that Kenshin had to break his silent reverie and shift his attention to her.  He smiled.

"Do you like it here, itoshii?"

She smiled in return, blushing for no apparent reason.  "Hai, anata…"

He took the hint, bringing out the small box that he had been fiddling inside his pocket for days.  For some strange reason, he felt the urgent need to put the ring on her finger right now and promise her the one thing he knew will make them both happy.  The abruptness of the gesture wasn't lost on Tomoe, who stared at her ring finger speechlessly, the full significance of the 'surprise' dawning on her like a violent, tumultuous wave…

"Marry me, Tomoe…"

The words were simple but full of meaning, coming from someone who spoke rarely and sparingly.  She smiled, noting the tremor in his voice, and the urgent plea in his eyes, which could have melted even the hardest of hearts.

"Hai, anata.  For you, I will do anything, endure anything, if it will make you happy.  You know that, don't you?"

He smiled wistfully, touching her face ever so gently.  "Hai, itoshii.  And I will do the same, that I will…"

She followed his lead, closing the gap between them with a soulful kiss that took away the empty aching need in their hearts…

The next morning, Tomoe woke to an empty bed, the blankets beside her folded neatly, a note resting on the top pillow next to her.

She recognized the hand writing, but the words seemed distant and incoherent, making her grope for some meaning that could render it comprehensible.  But there was none.  She dropped the note and grabbed her bag, tossing out its contents until her hand had felt the object she desperately needed.

She punched his cellphone number and waited.

_I'm sorry, but the number you dialed is either unattended or out of coverage area.  Please try your call later.        _

She threw the cell on the carpeted floor and crumpled to her knees, her body racked by uncontrollable sobs that did nothing to soothe the wave of despair that crashed around her, drowning her senses.

. . . . . . . . . 

_Stay in focus.  You did the right thing, though she'd probably kill you and hate you for it.  But that's something you need to find out for yourself once this is over.  And that's what you need.  To get this over with as soon as you can.  So focus, goddamit!!!_

Kenshin's eyes moved cautiously left and right, assessing the height of the wall he needed to scale to get into the facility.  Not that he doubted his equipment will work.  Katsura had given him all that he could possibly need to accomplish the mission.  And he's not going to fail, Tomoe's face urging him on, making him almost impatient as he quietly crawled vertically and landed on his two feet on the other side of the wall, his body relaxing only so slightly when he noticed that no apparent danger had yet greeted him.

So far so good… 

_Iie… not really, Battousai.  A guard is already on his way, about twenty meters from your position.  Please be careful…_

Kenshin's back bristled at that.  How could she have known he was here?  By now, he had become familiar with the voice inside his head—too familiar in fact that it was almost unsettling.  He decided to focus on the situation instead, taking her warning for what it is.

Using the camouflage suit that rendered him partially and temporarily invisible for a few seconds, Kenshin proceeded to his target location, his fingers unconsciously grappling the hilt of the sword expertly, his thoughts now intent on finding the voice through the haze of madness in his mind.

In the facility, the girl anticipated the slow descent of a hand on her arms and legs, checking out the wires binding her to the table, and the tanks that rendered her immobile.  She knew that they've been drugging her to keep her mind inactive and sluggish, rendering her helpless against her captors and their torturous procedures.  Just the unspoken reminder that the new set of wires the hands have latched on her arm and legs will be instrumental to the next phase of the experiment, was enough to turn her insides.  Sometimes she would wake and see vague images about her, some too frightening to deserve remembering, others too grotesque and surreal to deserve recognition.  The visions she had yesterday however, were the worst, the sensations inside her body still too painfully real to convince her that those images were just part of the dream imposed upon her consciousness by the white-haired doctor who wanted to find out the extent of her powers, and would subject her to unimaginable horrors to get the results he wanted.  She knew too that with the shields up around her 24 hours a day, she really had no way of seeking outside help, since all her mental energy would simply bounce off the energy barrier to be absorbed by the plasma tanks strapped to her sides, preventing her from using these residual energies to damage the shields and send out her signal.

But she never lost hope.  And by some strange twist of fate, somebody did pick up her signal.

There's no doubt about it, as she scanned the facility for the presence of the mind she had grown accustomed to, in her youth.  Kenshin Himura, otherwise known as the Battousai is, after all, the same man she had saved so many times before…But last night…

_Was it just a dream?_ she asked idly, wondering with just a little curiosity…   

Thinking about the odds though, and the circumstances leading to it, she could not help but wonder strangely at this turn of events.  She knew that the ex-assassin is indeed a powerful man, matchless in countless ways and unpredictably dangerous.  She also knew that she was the one largely responsible for the whole mess that complicated his life as an assassin, the force that gave him the same unconscious impulses of the ruthless killer, the drive that pushed him to the brink of insanity…

In other words, she was, and continues to be the source of the madness that haunts even now, the peaceful man known as Kenshin Himura, and the one who will inevitably ruin his life again, and perhaps more permanently this time, if she allowed herself to involve him far more deeply than he is willing… 

For they are nothing but pawns moved by invisible hands… and she, the broken path whom Battousai the aimless warrior must follow, even to the edge of doom. 

That is, if she would let him…

. . . . . . . . . 

**Author's notes**:  Okay, let me just clarify that Kaoru is not the bad guy here—could never be THAT because I like her too much!!! (As for unpredictability, my behind!!! Oooppss, just saw it flying outside the window).  As for Tomoe, again, let me remind you that she deserves to get a fairer treatment than she mostly gets, and even though most of us will scowl at that (Hey, I know a lot out there who love those fics where they kill her off to make room for Kaoru) **I feel that the conflict between Kenshin's past with Tomoe, and his eventual meeting with the "Kamiya girl" can only be genuinely explored if these two women are alive.**  (Besides, it's the only way to do Kaoru's character justice, since she's NOT just Kenshin's second choice, by accident, as some Tomoe fans out there would like to believe)  As I said earlier, I have my own preferences, being a K&K fan myself, but anything can still happen in this fic, and Kenshin is in for more torture.  So does Kaoru.  And though she hasn't struck a chord in his heart yet—not for some chapters I guess—it excites me just imagining how these two will meet in person…and what will happen after that.  All characters are in for a lot of torture and heartache and I kind of pity them because I'm such a bad ass writer, but hey, you'll help me won't you?  I really appreciate your comments so send me one, please.  Thank you for reading and until next week!!!            


	4. Deep River

Depend On You           

**      by Hotaru**

**Chapter 3:  Deep River**

****

****

**You reach out with your eyes**

**I was blind**

**I cannot see**

**Through the rain **

**And the memories.**

Dr. Yukishiro had entered the laboratory, scanning the room with cold, blue eyes.  Seeing that the last technician had left and he was alone with the girl, he approached her warily at first, then more confidently, as her face came into full view.

"Kaoru…" he whispered, touching her face with feather-like lightness, his fingertips grazing her cheek as it would the most fragile glass.  He sucked in his breath, closing his eyes…

"Y-you…" the voice said weakly, forcing the young, silver-haired doctor to open his eyes in mild shock.

The girl stirred slowly, sapphire blue eyes piercing him through the semi-darkness.  "T-take y-your han-hands of-f-f…me…"

He smiled at that, ignoring her futile attempt to push his hand away.

"Even in pain, you struggle…" he whispered to her, his face only inches away, their noses almost touching.  "How pathetic, yet admirable…such strength in so small a creature…"

His hand went slowly to her neck, encircling it, grasping the soft flesh of her nape and pinching it with aching fondness…

"G-get away f-from m-me…y-you b-bas-t-t-ard…"

"Aahhh… so childish, this refusal of yours to submit to your inevitable fate…"

He continued rubbing her cheek, feeling the tears come.

"I think a gentleman should know when he's not wanted…"

Dr. Yukishiro turned and came face to face with amber eyes.

"You…"

"Me…"

"Indeed" the doctor-scientist said, lowering his glasses.  "So, we meet again…Battousai…"

. . . . . . . . . .

"Hello?  Katsura-dono's office?"

"Yes, ma'am.  May I know who's calling, please?"

"This is Tomoe.  Yukishiro Tomoe.  I need to talk to your boss."

"I'm sorry but he's in a meeting right now… Would you like to leave a message?"

"Tell him Tomoe Yukishiro will see him tonight at eight.  At the Himekami teahouse."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but that's just not possible…Hello?"

The line was dead.

. . . . . . . . . . .  

Tomoe walked silently in the shade of the sakura trees lining the avenue, her face thoughtful, concerned.  Kenshin had not tried to contact her even once since that morning, and she was getting worried, anxious, and no matter how she denied it, angry.  She knew she had no right blaming him, he had a life before she met him, and though he never asked that she change hers for his sake, she can't say the same of her.  Kenshin's past as an ex-assassin was not easy to accept, and though she had successfully won his case in court by breaking even her own rules, she can't say she approved of his life and the world of madness around which it revolved.  That doesn't mean, of course, that she regretted having met and loved such a man.  Kenshin is—damned she may be to admit it—everything to her.  No matter how difficult, he tried to live a normal life, keeping his heartaches and frustrations to himself while giving so much of what little humanity was left in him—his love, his loyalty, his trust.  The ex-assassin trusted no one, and it took years before she was able to break down that barrier of indifference he would raise whenever his emotions threaten to break out.  

She remembered the ring he gave her last night, the quiet resolve in his eyes when he asked her to marry him, and she thought that was enough, that they have arrived at the beginning of the end, and are ready to start anew…       

But he had left her instead.  Left her behind without a clue…  

Only that word goodbye…which is hardly enough…

She hugged herself, feeling the softness of the violet cardigan he gave her on her birthday last month.  It was the color of his eyes…and feeling it close feels like he was with her again…

_Time to wake up to the dark cold reality woman…_ her inner voice whispered unsympathetically.  _He may have given you his heart and body but you could never own his soul…_                            

She fought the tears that came, brushing them with the tip of her fingers.  _Souls?_  she bleakly thought, watching the graying sky.  She never believed in soul-mates anyway…because if there was such a thing, he would be here with her right now, watching the sakura fall, holding her in the warmth of his eyes…            

**. . . . . . . . . . **

Battousai stared down the scientist with smoldering amber eyes, his hand steadily grasping the hilt of a long Japanese sword sheathed beneath the long black coat he wore.  It was not the strange presence of the sword however that drew Enishi's eyes to him, but something else in his face…

A soft sigh escaped Enishi's lips as he smiled at the red-haired warrior.

"I see that that scar of yours has not yet healed, Battousai.  Not that it could EVER heal.  Consider it a souvenir, a little token from my sensei who had built his Empire on the great future of this science—the science of reinventing the human mind…a future you could have been a part of, if you weren't so stupid as to resist."

The red-head glared back, lips twitching just ever so slightly.

"Troubled, Battousai?  Did I awaken old memories?"

Kenshin flinched, eyeing him disgustingly.  

"No matter.  Those memories will serve you well Enishi…because I have a mind to carve your grave right now, thanks to those memories…"

The sword slid out of its sheath smoothly, soundlessly, the metallic gleam matching the ex-assassin's eyes.   

"Overconfident, aren't we Himura?"

"Confidence has little to do with it.  You will release Kamiya and give up, Enishi."

A grin.

"Give up?  You didn't even say the magic word…"

"I have no time for stupid games, Enishi.  Hand the girl over and I will let you live.  Those were my orders.  Don't let me improvise or things will get ugly."

"Indeed?  That is just sad," Enishi told him. 

In one swift, unexpected move, the silver-haired man pulled the girl strapped on the bed rudely, wires snapping as her arms left the bed, sending her wreathing in pain, her agonized moans filling the room.

Kenshin gritted his teeth, pulling his sword halfway out of its sheath.  "Why you son-a-fa-"

"Bitch?" he cut him rudely, eyes mocking, teasing.  "Hai, this bitch shall be your undoing, Battousai!!!"

Deftly, Enishi pulled out a thin microchip planted at the back of the girl's head and wordlessly embedded it in his own, wincing slightly as he felt the warm trickle of blood against skin.  Kenshin watched indifferently as the scientist began to stagger backwards, his eyes seemingly unfocused, turning from blue to dull gray, even as he clutched his head between his hands.  Kenshin would have used his enemy's momentary distraction to his advantage, but thought otherwise.  The Battousai may be a cold-blooded murderer, but he will never attack an unarmed man…

It was then that the girl, now clutching her arms and hugging her body in a tiny corner of the room began to shriek, and as she did, her body spasmed, eyes going white, as she convulsed, feeling shockwaves course through her nerves…

"K-Kamiya???" He had never seen the girl before, but his gut tells him she is the one.

She was heedless to his call, even his touch, as her head flung back, her chest heaving violently, throwing back the loose gown that covered her small body.

Kenshin tried to pull back the gown to cover her, despite her hands' repeated, violent attempts to get them off.  He could only do so much though, as her fingers clutched and tore at anything within its reach, giving him countless scratches on the cheek as he leaned forward, trying to calm her.    

It was futile.  Her gown had completely come loose, torn beyond saving, and she was beginning to kick as well, hitting him at the chest and almost knocking the breath out of him.    

He knew he had to try something more drastic, even as his eyes guiltily acknowledged her state of undress, and the implications of what he will do to her might cause, were she to remember this incident afterwards. 

But he had no choice.  

With agonizing gentleness, he angled his thighs over hers, putting down the weight of his body on her lower body as she screamed, not from the pain of his weight on her, but from some indescribable sensations running up and down her spine, forcing her to hit her body against the cold floor in spasmodic force.  With only the slightest hesitation, Kenshin grabbed both her wrists in one hand, and pressed the other around her waist, increasing the pressure of his weight down her hip and thighs to keep her from throwing him off and hitting herself with the force of her convulsions.

He didn't in the least feel comfortable doing this to her, but he had no time to think of alternatives, his thoughts racing towards Enishi's presence across the room, and then back to the girl whose blue eyes remained blank and unseeing, tears marring her cheeks as she submitted to the will of her battered body.            

Just then, Enishi started to laugh maniacally, forcing Kenshin's attention back to him.

"Kamiya knows you… and she will help me win this battle by reading every single move you make…"

Kenshin looked back at the girl, his eyes wide with apprehension.  In the pit of his stomach, he knew exactly what that meant…

The chip Enishi had removed was his access to the mind of the Kamiya girl, allowing him to redirect all her knowledge and memories towards his own consciousness, thereby giving him unlimited access to her deepest secrets, her intuitions, her reflexes…

And that of the Battousai, with whom she had shared countless battles, countless secrets, countless memories of those dark, desperate assassinations, and the techniques he used to carry out each one…  

Kenshin felt his muscles contracting, sensing sudden danger.  In a battle such as this where your opponent can read your every move, only one conclusion is acceptable.

It is a good time to die.

. . . . . . . . . .

"I normally do not accept invitations on such short notice."

Tomoe acknowledged that comment, bowing her head slightly.  "Gomen, but a desperate woman does not have too many choices…"

Katsura beamed at her directness.  She is a woman with grace and bearing, and she can be direct without sounding overbearing and rude.  He admired that.

"So, what urgent matters do we need to discuss, or need I ask?"

Tomoe smiled thinly, her eyes meeting his.  "I want to know where Kenshin is."

Katsura had expected much.  "I'm not allowed to discuss the details of his occupation, in much the same way you can't allow your client's case to be discussed over dinner when it's not to his advantage."

She gracefully picked out a crisp radish with her chopsticks, relishing its taste as she turned to look at him with serious, coal-black eyes.  "I agree, demo…" she paused, looking at the General through thick lashes, eyes merely pinpoints of silver "…your analogy, if I may say so, is misleading.  Kenshin is not your client, and we're not discussing a court case."

He smiled.  "You saw through my argument.  That's admirable in a lawyer."

"And you, dear Katsura-**dono**, are changing the subject."

He laughed, noticing the familiar honorific only the Battousai would insist upon, by force of habit and convention.  The implications would have been troubling, given THAT hint Tomoe just threw his way, but he was a better politician—a veteran at that—and if there was anything veterans are good at, it's letting neither friends nor enemies see through their disguises…

"I admire so many things about you, Yukishiro-san, and I will not hesitate to tell you that your meeting with Himura was a relief.  He needed someone like you to keep him on a leash.  A pleasant confinement, if I may say so, since a restless assassin is the last thing we need after the operations have been so abruptly terminated.  Anyway, as I've said, I'm not free to discuss Kenshin's current occupation with anyone, even if you are, as I take it, more than just an anybody in his life, Yukishiro-san.  I hope you understand."

She seemed to take his explanation lightly, choosing to pay attention to stirring her tea.  She leaned her head sideways, the soft curtain of raven hair falling on one shoulder as she did.  "That's the problem with us women, I guess.  We always understand, even at the expense of reason.  But I will not give up on Kenshin.  And I will not let you have him completely.  I have ways of getting the information I want, whether from you, or from some lowlife out there who's willing to get paid.  And I will not stop until Kenshin is safe with me.  Because he belongs here.  With me.  And there's nothing you or anyone can do to change that."

Katsura looked at her, amazed at the calmness yet strength of her words as she spoke.  _This Yukishiro is a woman nobody messes up with._  He knows that now.                               

. . . . . . . . . . . 

Enishi began to approach, holding a long, slender metal pipe, which he tore from the tanks strapped to the girl's bed.  It didn't matter which weapon he chose to fight the Battousai.  Knowing each and every strategy the ex-assassin can use to attack him puts the former at a clear disadvantage, making the choice of weapon an insignificant factor in the outcome of the fight.

"Come, Battousai.  Or are you afraid to see how accurate my thoughts are of you?"

Kenshin stood up, sensing that the Kamiya girl had suddenly relaxed underneath him the moment Enishi had regained his composure.  He darted a look of sharp indifference at the silver warrior, taking note of the length and weight of his weapon, and making calculations as to how his sword might best counter it.

Enishi laughed.  "So cold and calculating aren't we Battousai?  Attack and you will see!!!"

The Battousai had no choice.  He had to make the first move.

He flew up and above Enishi, blue sparks flying as their auras met and clashed in the semi-darkness, each as eager as the other in his resolve to kill.  Or so Enishi assumed.  He wondered vaguely when Kenshin drew back, not meeting his weapon where he should, but twisting in mid-air to land a few feet from him, his eyes a mask of emotions.

Enishi drew back… The Battousai's eyes.  They are not amber, but of the deepest purple…

Kenshin smiled.  "Perplexed Enishi?"

"Huh… why should I be, Battousai?" he drawled, his lips thinning into a smile.   "So long as Kamiya's memories are in here" he pointed to the side of his head, "I know you like the back of my hand…"

"You're forgetting something though" Kenshin told him darkly, sheathing his sword in preparation for his new improvisation of the classic battou-jutsu technique.   "Since I'm not fighting as Battousai, Kamiya's memories cannot help you at all…"

Enishi's veins bulged as he stared at the red-haired raven, his eyes just slightly confused.

"Not as Battousai?  You are nothing more than a merciless killer, you freak!!!  And I made sure you stay that way!!!"

"You're wrong…" Kenshin calmly objected, trying to relax his grip on the hilt of his sword.  "This scar, Takeda Kanryu's experiments… they prove little about the success of your program.  I would have to admit though, that for a while, as Battousai, I was exactly what Dr. Yukishiro dreamed me to be—a mindless machine whose choices have been bought at the cost of so many lives…Demo…even with that realization, I was glad something happened that forced me out of that meaningless existence…something that forced me to move on even if the old compulsions remain… And that is where your error lies, Enishi Yukishiro…"

A grim smile crept into the ex-assassin's lips, arm muscles flexing as the sword dropped into a position of defense.   

For a tiny second, Enishi held his breath, fear creeping up his tense shoulder muscles as they moved in synchrony with the tiny adjustments the ex-assassin was making with the position of his sword.

"Did you say _error_?" he hissed, eyes watching the black-cloaked figure's shadow move against others, making itself almost invisible if not for the eyes that glimmered like a cursed cat's.    

"You want an explanation?"

He wanted time.  But he was not going to say that.  

"Pray, enlighten me, Battousai."

The ex-assassin drew the sword vertically, showing the full length of the weapon that reached from his chest, down to the edges of the long coat that swished around his knees.  The length gleamed in the semi-darkness like a ray of blue light, flickering depths reflected in the assassin's eyes as he stared at the scientist, yellow irises shifting to purple.       

"What Kamiya knows is the dark side of me trapped somewhere in that past, in that oblivion you intend to force upon the helpless as your sensei had likewise done so… Demo, since all my previous battles depended on the Battousai's skills rather than Himura's, all Kamiya's memories of me are irrelevant to this battle, because I'm not fighting you as the assassin of before, but as the me that have survived Kanryu's insanity, Enishi…"

 "Your drama is comic shit!!!"

"Say what you want, but I will not die here, not in this godforsaken place…"

"We will see about that, you arrogant bastard!!!"

His mad swing however, as Kenshin had predicted, was aimed at the weakness of the battou jutsu technique, which he had deftly altered by bringing the swing not vertically downwards, but horizontally, his sword arcing wide and deep, cutting a deep gash as it slid across Enishi's torso, slicing a piece of his uniform to shreds.  He looked down at his stomach and clutched it wildly, seeing the blood trickle, then ooze down the deep wound, making him numb for a few seconds.  

Scowling madly at Kenshin, he lunged forward, this time with the brute force of his fists coming down at him, punching at any opening he could find, forcing Kenshin to block with both arms.  

Kenshin jumped back, forcing Enishi to lunge wildly at him, knuckles meeting the hilt of the long sword which the ex-assassin used as a shield, bleeding and scarring his enemies hands in more than a dozen places, as the punches grew more frustrated, aimless, and disoriented.  

He had a mind of ending the fight by kicking him in the gut and hitting his jaw with the battered hilt, but decided against it.  There was no need to make the miserable man's life an embarrassing living hell…

Not yet at least.  Right now, the movement in the corner of the room seemed more important.   

The girl was stirring, her eyes going wide with shock when she passed them over her disheveled and brutely exposed appearance.  Flinching slightly, perhaps due to the cold, perhaps due to her apparent state of undress, she struggled to cover herself with the tattered laboratory gown, pulling it up to cover the upper half of her body.

He might have found that almost childish gesture interesting if a punch on his right eye did not make the vision a gray blur…    

"You WILL die here Battousai, and I will make sure you and I meet in HELL!!!"

_Ba-Battousai…??_

_Hell…??_

She looked at the source of the commotion and for the first time registered the actual, physical presence of the man she had only seen in the darkness of her mind, in the countless nightmares she had fought and survived. 

She looked at him, bruised and battered from Enishi's punches, but holding on, his face a picture of deep calm and quiet resolve.

She had not taken her eyes off him when his eyes darted to hers, quickening her heartbeat…

For two seconds, sapphire met amethyst…

Somewhere, in the consciousness of that single moment of awareness, she felt that a deep river had been bridged, making way for two distant souls whose journeys are just about to begin…              

. . . . . . . . . .

**Author's notes**:  Yeah , yeah, I was trying to put in some OOC there, but hey, I love Enishi the way he is, including K&K of course, so I decided to stick to their original character, at least in this chapter.  Again, Tomoe remains spunky, and if her possessiveness offends—well, I think this part of her is NOT new really, since I'd like to believe that behind the repressed superficiality of the characters in the OAV, there are complex and multidimensional shades to their behaviors, which are only too well hidden… For example, wasn't Tomoe being possessive when she decided to hunt Kiyosato's killer to avenge him (which is duh, because anyone in his right mind would know that a killer as good as the Battousai can't be beaten by a man, much less a woman without sword skills) then gives her life to the next guy she falls in love with?  I mean, doesn't her expression of love seem to border on the extreme (almost obsessive-like, which I guess had to be toned down in the OAV because women are not allowed to show outward signs of passion)?   So you see, if there's something Tomoe is extremely good at, it's fighting for her man, and despite flaws that other fans see in her character (frigid, boring, dark and brooding like Rei-Ayanami or Kikyo), I think she has some strengths buried under the layers of that repressed consciousness of hers.  So for Tomoe fans out there, don't flame me, I'm trying my best to be fair to her, **even if I'm a fanatic K&K fan.**  Anyway, the next chapter ought to be good since there'll be more K&K interaction and some other characters will be showing up as well like Sano and Megumi, and Aoishi.  It's getting pretty hard to maintain distance from their original characters though, but I will try my best.

            So, depending on my mood, I might have more OOC thingies in the next chapter (but sorry, no lemons yet—gee I'm getting nervous).  Flame me if I'm going overboard, but I doubt I can do that, since I love the original characters too much!!!

            Oh, and by the way, notice my titles?  I always take them from the last sentence of each chapter (Boo, boo, my originality sucks!!!).

            Again, thanks for reading this far!!!  Don't forget to send me your comments!!!  Until the next chappie, Bye!!!    


	5. Dangerous Minds

**Depend On You**

**      by Hotaru**

**Author's notes**:

Yeah**,  **I forgot some essentials like the disclaimer and rating warnings.  So I'll put them here, okay?

All reviews will be answered after this chapter.  I've only got 8 so far, so it shouldn't be hard.  Please, to those other readers out there, your reviews are the only thing that inspire me.  Tell me if you like this story or if I should go get a life and flame this one for good!!!  

Yeah, I'm wordy.  On with the story!!!

**Disclaimer**:  I would like to own rurouni and will give my lifesavings to Watsuki for that, but hey, life isn't fair, so I don't own him, that sucks!!!

**Rating**:  PG-13 but ratings may change as fic progresses.  Don't say I didn't warn you!!! 

Thanks to all my reviewers:  Kyaa-Kyaff, Jason M. Lee, kyanos, and Nightrain.  You're the first people who reviewed this and I owe u guys 4 life!!!

Oh, and by the way, I DON'T flame reviewers.  (And I don't have rabies, so even if I bite, well, he he....)

Now, did I say on with the story?  Yare, Yare....

**Chapter 4:  Dangerous Minds**

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****

**I look back and realize**

**It's hard to hurt things**

**You cannot touch**

**Harder to touch**

**Things you cannot feel**

**Harder to feel**

**Things you cannot understand**

**So in order to love  **

I must understand beyond feeling 

**Feel beyond touch**

Touch beyond hurt 

**Only then do I love**

**When all boundaries dissolve**

**When you and I become ** **Solitudes meeting**

Enishi threw a punch at Kenshin, sending him reeling backwards, even with the hilt of his sword raised in an obvious gesture of defense.  In the corner, the girl slumped forward as she tried to stand up, her legs refusing to cooperate as she urged them to move forward, her eyes still on the commotion ahead.

Meanwhile, Kenshin cursed himself for letting his guard down, the girl's eyes sending signals he couldn't ignore, some of them comforting, imploring, but most of them begging him to leave.  He could only wonder at that, as he ducked to the sides, evading another aimless punch from Enishi.  The girl must have realized by now that he had come to rescue her.  Wasn't that what she wanted?  He wanted to see her eyes again, to seek the answer to the puzzle in his mind, but Enishi lumbered towards him, grabbing a steel file and some scissors and throwing them at him carelessly.  Kenshin also vaguely wondered at that.

He knew Enishi to be a better fighter.  Or perhaps it's the effect of the chip he had taken from the Kamiya girl…

Feeling almost sorry for the scientist who seemed so out of it now, he grabbed and pushed a metal cart filled with tubes and wires from behind him, putting it between himself and Enishi, then kicking it as hard as he could, allowing it to drag Enishi across the room and against a wall, pinning him effectively.  As Enishi groaned and struggled to push the intrusive object away, Kenshin grabbed the girl's hand, pulling her to her feet.

Almost instantly, she whimpered at his touch, her other hand reaching out to free herself from his grasp.  He ignored it, pulling her behind him without looking back.

Already, he can hear Enishi's anguished shrieks, and the sound of feet rushing from outside the door.

Cursing softly under his breath, he kicked a ventilation shaft open, pulling the girl behind him even more urgently.

Again her other hand tried to push his hand away.

He looked back, his violet eyes impatiently cold and distant, worry etched on his features as he asked.

"What do you think you're doing?"

She looked back, eyes defiant, her sapphire eyes demanding.

They stared at each other for five seconds, neither one speaking.

It was then that he noticed.

A wire was protruding from the wrist he held, the pin embedded on a vein that had burst and was bleeding profusely.  Immediately releasing her at the sight of blood trickling on the floor and marking their path, he took out a scarf from beneath his coat then wrapped it around her wound, careful not to apply more pressure than needed.

She looked at him strangely, wondering why he seemed to be keeping his eyes averted from her, even as he dressed her wounds.

The reason only became clear when he removed his long coat and threw it over her shoulder.

"I don't want you catching a cold."

With embarrassment, she realized that the blue lab gown she had been wearing had completely slipped off her shoulders, revealing intimate parts of her in several places.  She blushed, wrapping his coat tightly about her, holding out the other, unbandaged hand to him, as he unconsciously reached out to lead the way.

Everywhere around them, sirens echoed, announcing their escape. 

. . . . . . . . . .

"Tomoe-san?  Are you alright?  I think you haven't heard a single thing I said since the time we got here," Akira Kiyosato, Tomoe's business partner, colleague, and close friend who's been with her since she joined the Seta Law Firm Inc. three years ago gave her hand a squeeze, forcing a wan smile on her lips.

He shook his head.

"Hey, it's not the end of the world.  I don't know Himura that much, but from what I see, he doesn't seem to be the guy who ups and leaves a woman without a good reason."

Tomoe glared at him.  "Oh, and would it help if there's a good reason, Akira?"

Akira backed away slightly, noting the edge in her voice.  He smiled.  "Okay, maybe he doesn't up and leave, period."

"That's much better" she sighed, her eyes returning to the sight of rain outside the window.

Akira scratched his head.  "Look, if you're gonna sit around and mope all day, you might as well go out with me for a drink or two.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not making a pass at you or anything, but I really hate seeing you so down in the dumps like this.  It's so not like you."

She sighed again, finishing her tea as she slung her bag on her shoulder, looking up at the eager face that met hers.  "Alright.  But none of your sleazy, sexist jokes, Akira, and I mean it.  All I want is some quiet, and maybe just a little conversation… but like hell, who am I kidding?  Anything I say will be just about Kenshin because I can't get him off my mind and you'd be pissed having to hear the same things over and over again because I'm crazy…"

"And in love."

She snorted, finally standing up.  "More than ever and I can't help it…" 

. . . . . . . . . .

"Shinomori Aoshi I believe?"

A figure lurking in the darkness asked, the voice guttural and deep, like a wolf's.  

"What do you want, Saitou Hajime?" the man with menacing ice blue eyes asked, his coat swishing around his legs as he turned to regard the man behind him with discomfort and aversion.

Saitou flicked the ashes off his cigarette as he approached, the deep hollows of his cheeks reminding Shinomori of dead, old skulls.

"You haven't answered my question Saitou…"

"Aaahhh, still impatient I see.  Have you been busy lately Shinomori?  Of late, I was beginning to wonder about your whereabouts.  I mean, you weren't as active as Himura five years ago when he was still Battousai, and now that your network has become obsolete…"

"Worried about me being jobless, Saitou?  I didn't know you have a soft spot in you."

The voice of course, dripped with sarcasm.  Saitou snickered.

"You're forgetting that I work as an Information Specialist now.  So tracking down missing agents shouldn't prove very difficult for me, if at all…"

"Oh, don't worry.  You won't be missing me all that much, really.  After all, since your agency got Himura on strings, your bosses have been keeping me busy with a lot of work…"

"Really now.  May I know what kind of work, Shinomori?"

"Do you really think I'd tell you?" Shinomori scoffed at him, walking away with a grin.  "But since I hate to waste your time—you do have to spend a lot looking for me, didn't you?—why don't you go ask Hiko?  He might have something to say why I'm here in Tokyo, and what Dr Yukishiro has been up to lately…"

_Dr. Yukishiro?   _The name was very familiar, of course.  He was the protégé of the late Dr. Takeda Kanryu, the scientist who was linked to the scandalous spread of a deadly virus—Anthrax 09—in Otsu, which killed thousands.  Though closely linked to the brilliant scientist, Dr. Yukishiro's background, however, appeared "clean" and did not connect with any evidence pointing to Kanryu's involvement in the tragic incident.  Technically speaking then, Dr. Yukishiro should not be a serious concern to the authorities, though the fact that Shinomori brought him up was enough to cause serious doubts on the part of the intel officer.

With this thought in mind, Saitou turned his back on Shinomori, walking in the opposite direction.  Then, as if in jest, he called out.

"If you see the Battousai, say hello for me.  I'm sure you two will bump into each other one of these days.  And if you manage to kill him, well, that means I only have you to get rid of…"

Shinomori chuckled, but his face remained as impassive as death.  "That will not come easy, Saitou.  But hey, you'll say hi to Tokio for me, won't you?  And the baby—aahhh, Setsu, isn't he?—say hi to him for me too.  He'll grow up to be a wonderful boy if you stay away as much as you can...Something tells me though that THAT isn't at all a problem..."

Even against his habit, Saitou turned, eyes gleaming savagely, cigarette forgotten as it dropped lazily to the ground, tiny flickers of light trailing its path.  But Shinomori was nowhere in sight, the shadows swallowing him up completely under the golden moon.

. . . . . . . . . .

The night wind was vicious, the cold, biting into her skin as she blindly followed her guide, his hand moist in her numbing grasp.  They've been walking for an hour through godforsaken alleys where cats feasted on smelly scraps and people huddled in dark corners, darting indifferent looks through dull, lead-gray eyes.  The hopelessness was overwhelming, suffocating her as she angled and half-stumbled through the littered side streets towards the dark cloaked stranger before her, who had not uttered a single word, nor turned to look at her even once, since that time when he bandaged her wounded wrist and had given her his long overcoat to keep the temperature out, and her dignity in.

She bowed her head as one man looked at her imploringly, his arm reaching out, as if to emphasize his need.  She didn't want to look away, but it was the best thing she could do to keep his thoughts as far away from her as possible.

She closed her eyes as the voices in her mind roared, some angry and bitter, others hopelessly lost, and muffled by pain...

Something cold and clammy attached itself to her leg, forcing her to break from her guide's grip, her posture that of a frightened, but defensive cat...

Kenshin turned around, only to find a dirty, calloused hand gripping her thigh, his nails dug deep into her pale, white skin.

Her eyes were wide with horror, but there was something more in them that drew his attention with something close to panic.

Her eyes... They were no longer the same sapphire blue he saw an hour ago, back in Enishi's underground facility.  They were...they were piercing yellow... no...

Amber...

Kenshin froze as that particular detail registered in his memory.

The girl's irises shimmered with deadly evanescence, like the color of insanity in the eyes of one who had lived to kill, with neither hesitation nor remorse …

A killer's rage that can only belong to Battousai…

. . . . . . . . . . .

"You called?  I haven't heard from you for a year!!!" the voice said, incredulity evident in her sultry voice.

Tomoe would have smiled, but her thoughts were racing, almost excited.  "Yeah, just wanted to know how you're doing.  Criminology is, after all, a challenging course.  A doctor such as yourself have little to prove but—"

"Look, you're starting to sound like Mrs. Takani, Miss Yukishiro!!!  Is this just a friendly call, or do you need anything?"

"Ouch.  That almost hurts," she said, feigning hurt.

"Look, Tomoe, I don't have all day, so, is this about a guy—who's that guy you've been going out with again?  Ken—Kenchi is it?"

"It's Kenshin, and yes, this IS about him.  I want you to track him down for me."

"WHAAAT!!!!  Are you serious?  Don't you think you need somebody less—I mean—I'm a professional...a drop-dead gorgeous one at that, and not your run-of-the-mill sleuth who picks locks with a hair pin!!!"

"I'm serious," Tomoe told her, berating herself for using that serious, almost unfamiliarly cold voice.  She sighed mentally, imagining release.  "I never told you this, but Kenshin Himura and Hitokiri Battousai are just one and the same person.  I would know because I handled his case in court, Dr. Megumi Takani!"

Megumi gave a low whistle, obviously amazed, if not shocked.  "Wow, since when have you been this daring, coz?  I thought you hate guys with a past—that sort of psychological bull that people throw around to excuse their behaviors. That's why you wanted to be a lawyer.  You're way too picky, you scrutinize, and you're too damn suspicious, with a capital S."

"Yeah, guess I should have taken up your hobby instead."

"So what's with this boyfriend of yours?  Third party, something like that?"

It took a second for her to answer, as if she had just considered that for the first time.  "No.  That's not it."

"Are you going to keep me guessing?"

Tomoe sighed.  "Alright.  This is just a hunch but I think Kenshin's old 'job' had been reactivated.  Two days before he disappeared, he received a call from Secretary Katsura.  He didn't tell me what it's about—and I doubt that he will even if I beg him to—but I suspect it's got something to do with some nasty secret government project.  I don't know all the details about Kenshin's past, but what I do know is that he wouldn't go back into that mess voluntarily, especially when we've talked and talked about this..."

Tomoe didn't want to sound desperate but her voice almost cracked, forcing her to stop so as not to give herself away.

Megumi seemed to understand, letting the silence fall between them, like the measured rhythm of a pendulum...

"Well...if that's how it is..." she dragged, not wanting to sound so uncertain, but coming out a little like so, "I might be able to figure out how I can help."

She was being very indirect and she knew it.

Tomoe nodded, as if Megumi was right in front of her.  "I don't have the luxury of time, though, I'm afraid..."

"Alright."

Megumi forced herself to speak, closing her eyes.  _This isn't going to be easy, you'll be breaking a lot of rules, and might have hell to pay for it, but..._

"Alright, I'll see to this personally.  Is that better?"

Tomoe exhaled, her bone-deep exhaustion finally finding release.  "Hai.  I know how hard it is, but I've only got you, and I know you'd understand..."

Megumi snickered.  "Yeah, yeah, just don't make it sound like I should grow a halo right this minute.  I mean, hell, I've got plenty right there in the closet already!!!"

Tomoe rolled her eyes.  "Your conceited ass.  Arigatou anyway, and until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?  Geez, you're one hard woman!!!"

"Glad you know, bye!"

Megumi put down the receiver as Tomoe hung up, her mind going in circles._  If this Himura is what my cousin says he is, I have everything to lose if I blow this one!_

_Damn that Himura!!!  If I find out you've been crossing the line, I might have to shoot you myself!!!_

. . . . . . . . . . 

"Look..." Kenshin forced himself to look away from the girl, and then to the man grasping her thigh, whose look reflected a hunger Kenshin only knew too well, being a man himself.  He gritted his teeth mentally, acknowledging the disgust he felt for his own sex.  "If you don't let go of her this minute, I will be forced to make circumstances less pleasant for you, mister..."

"Huh?" the man was feasting with the girl's thigh, and hadn't bothered to comprehend a single word of that long, winded speech.  Kenshin cleared his throat, his eyes sparking dangerously this time.

"Get your filthy hands off her or you won't have something to pleasure yourself with tonight, got that?"

The man looked up, his face scrunched up haughtily, as if Kenshin was just a fly to swat... 

The ex-assassin narrowed his eyes, one arm moving towards his belt.  "I see..."

The man blanched as Kenshin walked towards him, unsheathing his long Japanese sword ever so slowly, allowing the metal to slide stealthily, steel grating against wood...

But the girl had beat him to it, her small, pale hands gripping the man's arm, her knuckles and veins bulging from beneath deathly white skin...

Kenshin ignored it, still holding on to his sword, knowing that the girl's strength is nothing against the size she would be up against.

Until he heard the man scream.

Kenshin stopped, the man's shrieks reaching several octaves, shaking the eery depths of the darkness around them.

He sounded like he was suffocating, or that something inside his head was being coiled tightly like a wire, forcing him to grab the sides of his head and hit it against the nearest wall he could find.  

Kenshin would have simply stared, if he hadn't seen blood dripping from the man's nose, and the sides of his head, staining the wall with ugly, splotches of dark vermilion.

THAT forced him to move on his feet and help the man who, a second ago, he would have sliced into ribbons for sexual assault...

All this while, the girl stared, her eyes glowing, lips bloodlessly white and trembling. 

Kenshin inched towards the man, the dark turtleneck sweater beginning to cling to his skin uncomfortably as he prepared for the only course of action he could think of.  There was no other way.  

The girl flinched as Kenshin punched the man in the gut, forcing him on his knees, his head sinking between them and away from the wall.  When he struggled to get up, Kenshin hit him squarely on the jaw, forcing him to fall on a heap of crates, the ugly cracking noise giving him some assurance that the man will not get up this time.

He didn't.

Kenshin surveyed the mess, making sure that the man was just unconscious but not fatally damaged.  He knew that if he had resorted to anything less violent, the man would still be hitting his head against the concrete wall, killing himself in the process.

Not that it was something to mourn about.

One less scum in the world does nothing to make it brighter.

He comforted himself with the thought that murder does not have to be unnecessary...

He turned to face the girl, his eyes narrowed, cautious, perplexed.

But she was gone.

. . . . . . . . . . 

Author's comments on reviews:

**Jason M. Lee:  Thanks 4 the attention!!!  By the way, I like your comment about Kenshin being some kind of a "James Bond" type of secret agent here.  Actually, "License To Kill" is the only JB movie I sort of liked, so I thought of using the term for fun, and because well, it perfectly describes what government assasins do (from my limited point of view that is!!!)  Though in character...let's see...maybe not.  I hate sex and violence (Though it does excite, doesn't it?  Especially when you find it novel?) especially unnecessary ones.  Violence and sexual content in this fic are warranted by what's to come next, though I might break my own rules too, who knows, go fig. that out!!!   **

            And about the Battousai with a "B"?  Sorry for the slip.  I know what you mean.  I'm kinda careless...bwa ha ha...so careless I write fanfics every night, even if my ulcer gets me!

**Kyaa-Kyaff:  Love you!!!!  You make the world go round for me.  I think that's the highest compliment I can give someone who has a lot of heart!!!  Thanks 4 the encouragement!!!  I'll write this fic even if it's only 4 you... (Okay, 2 much flattery there, but hey, I mean it!!!)**

**kyanos:  My story's amazing?  You really are way too kind!!! I appreciate your comments and would like to hear more from you!!!  You and Kyaa-Kyaff are just way too cool, I love you guys!!!**

**lere:  My fic becoming a classic?  I  love that compliment, and it spoils me I'm such a brat!!!!  I never dreamed of anyone saying that and I'm amazed, swamped, speechless (okay, I'll settle for the other two since I'm way too wordy to be speechless).  I'm glad you found this to be very, very good and I hope you really get to read until the very end...Because I won't start a chappie without your review—see I'm so spoiled!!!  (Ducks as flame thrower roars overhead.)  ^_^ Arigatou so much!!!!    **

**Nightrain:  Yeah, I know, this sessha just robbed Spielberg millions for using that term pre-cog.  Geez, can't even spell it.  Does it have a dash?  No?  Actually, I decided to use this term because I was looking 4 something more or less familiar, instead of inventing my own that might confuse.  But yeah, had to raise an eyebrow myself whenever I'd come across this word in my fic cause I know there's something better to call it though what, I dunno!!!  Love if you suggest something... I'm out of ideas!!!         **

   Thanks for the comments too!!!  You guys know how to make me smile!!!

**Sandy:  I'm glad you like my fic!!!  Gods, you're a dream, with a review that long!!!  I hunger for long reviews (I'm vain, I suck!!!) and you really made my day.  Glad you agree about Tomoe's character here, since I try as much as I can to re-invent characters by exploring subtleties in the old one, rather than totally making them from scratch.  I don't know, maybe I just like them the way they are.  Oh, and if you wanna know if this is gonna be a K&K?  Well, read on and find out!!!  I might be a little selfish and go for my own preferences (being a K&K fan myself)!!!**

             _    _


	6. Surreal

**_Depend On You_**

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**_by Hotaru_**

**Author's Notes:  Hi guys, here I am again for the next chappie!!!  Sorry about the other chapter which was not intended as a repost of "Dangerous Minds."  Got careless uploading what was supposed to be the replacement of that chapter, hence the duplication.**

            Also, I want to apologize to Jason M. Lee and Akai Kitsune.  Yeah, I'm paranoid, as my e-mail shows (if you didn't receive it, well, so much the better!!!) I actually thought I lost my chapter—geez, shoot me and put me out of my misery!!!—which really got me depressed yesterday, hence the late update.      

            By the way, I also like to thank my reviewers, namely Nightrain (yeah, I've read **Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey ten years ago, and the mind stuff did sort of rub off), J, lere, SiLvEr_iris, Ann, Sandy ^_^, Ichigo-kun, Jason M. Lee, kyanos, Akai Kitsune, Linay, and Kyaa-Kyaff.  If there's anyone I didn't mention, please wait for the next update, I'm sure you'd find my feedback to your review there.  ^_***

            Oh, and the details of my heartfelt gratitude and comments to these people will be found at the end of the chapter, so please read on!!!

            Now, where was I?  Oh yeah, disclaimer and stuff.

**Disclaimer:  I don't own RRK, and never will.  (Aaarrrgh!!!! Just threw a grenade at Sony!!!!)**

**Ratings:  PG 13.  Lemons?  Not in this chapter, not yet at least.  Too early for that, (He he he... this perv likes to keep you in suspense!!!)**

**Chapter 5:  Surreal**

**Her hand clutches his nape**

**Like a dead swan**

**Limp and frail against**

**Cold skin.**

**He turns**

**She looks**

**Broken glass.**

**She sees a reflection**

**On broken glass**

**On eyes that held**

**Another's reflection**

. . . . . . . . . .

Kenshin felt panic crushing his lungs as he forced his legs to move, training his senses to find a trail, a sign, a hint that the girl was still within the perimeter he had been surveying with agile, hawk-like scrutiny.  He hadn't planned on becoming someone's babysitter, but it seems Fate has yet found another way to mock his ego.

He stopped, as the wind carried an unconscious trace of feminine scent to his nostrils.  There had yet been no significant interaction between himself and the girl, and yet he had begun to be sensitive to things around her, such as her scent...

_Jasmine? he thought hazily, brushing aside the unwanted evidence of his familiarity with the girl, who was a complete stranger to him until the moment their eyes met in the middle of his duel with Enishi.  Almost, he could feel a tinge of guilt, knowing that since he had entered the underground military facility, he had only become aware of her gnawing presence, had tried to shake his awareness of her out of his mind by even avoiding to as much as look at her—unnecessarily, that is.  Of course, he only knew too well the source of that slight hesitation, and felt a stirring in his chest as his thoughts began to focus on the image of a tall, elegant woman in a gray and white suit and tie, dark eyes hiding beneath uneven layers of smooth, coal-black hair framing a delicate, heart-shaped face ..._

_After what I did, Tomoe must hate me now...  Utterly and irrevocably hate me—just as much as I hate myself for making that possible... _

He looked down at his hands, curling it into a fist.

_This is all a mistake... Maybe I shouldn't have—_

Something in the wind warned him like an unconscious compulsion, breaking his thoughts and forcing him to look deeper into the darkness...

The air vibrated with a strange, pulsating energy, much like a wave spiraling towards a vacuous core...

He raced towards the darkness, his heart throbbing heavily like hard rain against wood.

. . . . . . . . . .      

"Himura what?"

"Kenshin Himura."

The man's lips curled into a thin smile.  Of course, his expression was lost on her.

"So as it turns out, this is not just a friendly call is it, Megumi babe?"

She breathed a soft curse into his ear, the receiver resting between her shoulder and chin as her brows furrowed in scarlet indignation.  "Let me get this straight, you perv!!!  First of all, we're NOT friends, and I'm definitely NOT your babe—not in a million reincarnations, get that???  In fact, if I weren't so desperate, I wouldn't even ask YOU to do this for me, Mr. Sanosuke Sagara!!!"

"Hey, hey, where d'you get off calling me that?  Only my mother calls me Sanosuke."

"Fine then, Mr. Pig-headed Twerp!!!!"

"Twerp?" he scratched his head.  "Wuz that supposed to mean?"

Megumi rolled her eyes.  "Never mind.  What I'd like to know is if you're up to it.  You have all the files of the bureau, and anything else that's not there, well, must be somewhere, right?"

Sano took in the slight, sultry innuendo in her voice and grinned.  "You want me to hack their computers ya mean..."

"Why, I've never said such a thing my lovely man, have I?"

_Lovely man???  He knew she was playing a dangerous game with him._

"Of course you won't.  It's the sort of thing that gets people in jail, right?    And you're not willing to go to jail for this, are you?"

"What's the point of asking that?"

"Hell, if this is not worth risking your pretty little head, then don't do it.  And I ain't gonna help you put yourself in jail, Takani, even if just the two of us in there is bound to be more than interesting..."

She snorted.  "You're sick, Sagara, that's what you are."

"So, is this conversation over?"

"The moment you say yes, it is," she promptly answered, the command in her voice more serious and forceful this time.

He shrugged.  "And what do I get from all this trouble, may I ask?  You didn't actually think I'd be so noble as to volunteer my services, do you?  Even the Vatican ain't that charitable..."

"I had hopes."

"I had my own too."

"Get to your point Sagara!!!  All this talk is a waste of my sweet precious breath..."

"Hell, your sweet precious breath is all I need to keep the deal."

"You mean a date?  Are you serious?"

"How about sex?"

She heard the hoot of laughter on the other end of the line, making her blush.

"You're really such a fucking asshole, you know that???"

"Hey, so long as I have a hole to do that in..."

"The deal Sagara, before I lose my sanity and kill you!!!!"

"Okay, okay, we have a deal, Miss Megumi Takani.  I'll pick you up at eight."

"What do you mean?"  She was utterly confused now, her brows raised.

"C'mon, can't I give my clients some incentive at least?  Consider it a bonus."

Megumi fumed.  "I'm going."

"Bye then, Takani.  Remember.  Eight o'clock.  And wear something earth-shaking.  I do love to see those panty lines, ya know..."

She hung up.       

. . . . . . . . . .   

_Panty lines, my behind.  The only thing you're gonna see in me is my fist in your gut, you horse shit!!!_

Her expression was tightly controlled as Sanosuke led her to a red BMW, his face all smiles and god-knows-what lurking in his imagination...

She turned her eyes away from him as soon as she sat on the seat next to him.

"Oh, let me, Miss Takani.... It would be such a pleasure, believe me..."

She clenched her teeth as Sano fingered the seatbelt and secured it ever so tightly around her waist, his hands lingering on the bodice of her tight-fitting red evening dress.

She slapped his hand away, scowling at the sound of his playful laughter.

"I think you should keep your eyes on the road if you want this evening to have a future..."

He grinned.  "If we die together, you'll take me with you to heaven, won't you Takani?"

It was Megumi's turn to grin.  "Why yes, so I can shut the door to your face."

He laughed with her this time, pausing as they both fell silent after a while.

The road was smooth, and there are but a few cars that could possibly delay them from reaching their destination.  Sanosuke sighed.

"Hmmm???  For a pea-brain, you seem to have a lot on your mind..."

He looked at her sideways, his face thoughtful, the smile completely gone.  She had to gaze at him to make sure that she was still seated beside the same person.

_Did he give me that look just now?_

"Megumi..."

She turned to him, intrigued all of a sudden.  He had never, after all, addressed her in such a calm, soothing voice before.

A voice filled with honest concern as well...

"What is it, Sagara?  You look like someone who's gonna be hanged first thing at dawn!!!"

Her laughter died quickly when he turned to face her abruptly, his brown eyes shimmering, their lazy depths surfacing like a wave pushing against itself...

"Take my advice, Takani.  Stay away from Himura's business, if you don't want to regret anything more than this date..."

. . . . . . . . . . 

_What's wrong with me...? Kaoru asked, eyes closed, groping in the dark as she slipped from one shadow into the next, her hands grasping anything it could find to steady herself.  Getting away from the Battousai wasn't easy.  He had speed, agility, and almost as sensitive a ki as hers that would enable him to identify her presence at least twenty meters away.  In fact, in her state, she can't even afford to put that much distance between them.  No, that would be impossible, as she crumpled to her knees, her breathing labored and heavy.  She had opted to put her mental deflector shields up to keep him from tracing her ki with his own, but with the heavy throbbing in her head resuming with full force, she doubted whether those shields can keep him out for long._

Thinking about it now, she could only wonder at the impulse that had overtaken her a few minutes ago—the impulse that told her to stay away from the Battousai and hide.  She couldn't understand it altogether.  Last night, she dreamt that he was with her, holding her with his eyes, telling her not to let go...But now that he was actually with her, her immediate impulse was to flee and never see him again...

It was all confusing.  She grasped her head between her thighs, the strength of the throbbing becoming more intense, twisting her insides until she was almost ready to vomit.

It was then that a powerful arm grabbed her wrist, forcing her up before she could even see behind the hooded eyes that glowered at her futile struggle...

. . . . . . . . . .

Kenshin scanned the vicinity, scowling as the scent of heavy perfume drowned all memory of the trace he had been following until now.  The pub was big—extraordinarily huge and well lit, yet, dim and eery, as dancers slithered on a center stage, their calves, breasts, and midriffs showing.  It was an underground joint, that much he could see, and it was not unfamiliar.  Most of his missions required stealth and suspense, and while, he targeted mostly big-time politicians and syndicates, he knew that no scum could resist a night of wanton pleasure and abandon, making them helpless targets in places such as these, where distractions come so easily.

_The seduction of lust... he thought to himself, glaring at a woman who snaked her arm around his neck, almost making him jump—mentally at least.  He gave her a cold stare that could have frozen a lake.  "Excuse me, but I already have a table..."_

She quickly withdrew her hand, pouting as she did.  "Why is it that all good guys are already taken?"

He ignored that, moving deeper into the bodies that have begun to collect around the stage, in a massive orgy of lust and obsessive hunger...

_She's got to be here somewhere... _

He stopped, closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate.  The thread of energy was so weak, almost imperceptible, but coming out strong before totally dissipating.  The fluctuations were driving him insane, the shockwaves coming to him in measured beats, crashing into his senses like waves stirring and churning the depths of his consciousness.  

The irregularity was nauseating, but that was far from his thoughts.

He flexed his hand, his guts telling him something he'd rather push away.

She was in danger.

Because he felt exactly the same way when the man in the alley assaulted her.

If the ribbon of energy indeed, was her signature, it would be a signal that someone, or something was nearby—a potential threat that the girl can attack in self-defense.

And what if the attacker this time is a real threat?  Not some nameless scum in a filthy alley, but an armed man?

Make that armed men…

He grasped the hilt of his sword tightly, eyes narrowed as he scanned the room for any face that might be familiar or suspicious…  

Then something—or someone bumped his shoulder, collapsing against his torso as he turned rather irritatingly, to see what it was.

"Hey, I told you I had nothing to do with it!!!" the girl—well she looked like one anyway—screamed, pushing herself away from him without even looking.          

A man grabbed her collar, shoving her back to the floor even as she struggled to get up.  Around them, dancing couples simply moved to make way for them, not in the least curious as to what the commotion was about.

"Look, you do that again and I'll—"

"You'd do what with your puny ass?  Ever since you came, we've been losing recruits!!!!  I don't even know what the boss sees in you to let you stay here longer, you worthless fuck!!!"

The girl's eyes blazed, blue flames sparking her irises when she stood up and did the unexpected...   

Kenshin watched, amused and amazed as the man grabbed his stomach, yelping in pain at the kick that connected with his manhood without warning.

"You watch your mouth, acid breath!!!" she screeched, gritting her teeth.  "If you think I'm gonna stand and get screwed by filthy muck like you, well, I won't so you can shove your ass down your throat, you fuckin' slime hole!!!  And don't think that just because I let you scream at me you can call me names!!!!"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow, counting all her cuss words.  _She sure is as wordy as I am...which makes me wonder if..._

She turned to him, obviously noticing that she got his attention.  

Kenshin met her gaze without hesitation, trying to grasp the uncanny familiarity of her posture.

"And what the fucking hell are you looking at, carrot head???!!!!  You some perv who wants your ass licked too???"

_Oro!!!_

He did not flinch though as her blue green eyes—large orbs that they were and full of strength and spirit—bore into his, laced with a familiar trace of energy he could only, barely, recall.  

He was almost certain about it...but then again, a far more urgent compulsion was swaying him, making it difficult for him to concentrate on anything else.

_Gomen, Makimachi Misao, demo, I can't stay for a chat... _

Kenshin shrugged, turning to leave.

"Hey!!!  You lost your tongue or something???  Don't you dare turn your back on me you shit-face!!!!"

_Shit-face?  Now THAT is amusing.  Almost cute in fact._

He turned, his purple gaze resting on her defiant stare.

She stared back haughtily, challenging him to respond.

He turned away, but didn't move.

"You DARE turn your back on me cause I'm a girl???  I can also play hooky you know!!!" her teeth grated, insulting and taunting his ego.

He looked back over his shoulder, this time purple irises narrowing in warning.

"I really have no time for games like these, little miss, so if you'd be so kind as to excuse this shit-face, I'd be more than happy to leave."

She froze, the speech pattern forcing her to recognize an irrevocable truth...

If not for the long red hair which used to be a short crop of chestnut brown, and that cross-scar on the cheek, she would have immediately recognized the young man she had known so long ago... the young man her father introduced to her, when an old friend came to visit.  Who was it again?  Oh yes, Admiral Hiko—_her uncle Seijuro Hiko, the former Secretary of Defense..._

She looked deeply into him, wondering why the man seemed indifferent, betraying not the slightest hint of recognition.  

Somewhere in the depths of her childhood, an innocent smiled flashed, sadness lurking beneath purple depths. 

_The physical alterations may be deceiving, but some things, Shinta, can never change..._

"That katana..." she began in an ice-clear voice that feigned harshness, eyes reverting to the sheath attached to the raven-clad warrior's belt.  "You sure look stupid brandishing that around when guns these days are faster, smarter, and would look better on you."

Kenshin brushed the compliment aside.  _So, you've noticed, Makimachi-san... Demo, should I question that assumption or let it stay?  It would not be to anyone's advantage if our covers are blown.  And General Makimachi would turn in his grave if I put you in any danger...      _

"Hey, aren't you gonna say anything to that?"

He stopped but didn't look this time.

"Killing shouldn't be so easy..."

"What's that?"

"Go figure."

He then resumed his pace, this time ignoring her protests completely.

. . . . . . . . . .

Kaoru had grown accustomed to the darkness since she was seven when they had strapped her to a bed for two weeks, wires and electrodes trailing on her arms and legs.  At that time, she had lied to her father about summer camp, everybody taking pains to hide the truth from the man who was supposed to know everything.

Maybe not everything really.  She had been in and out of the military research  laboratories since then, but not once had her father suspected anything irregular about her activities—her kendo training which went on everyday to hide the fact that some of these weren't really intended for kendo—the anemia which she developed after the tests and which gave the doctors an even better excuse to keep her in bed so they can run their tests indiscriminately, as well as the weekends she would spend with her tutors all day—tutors who drilled her, trained her on a variety of tasks which bear little resemblance to things that normal kids her age do in school...

In other words, she grew up a freak right under the nose of the dearest person to her in the world who will be the last to tolerate her inhumane upbringing...

The worst is, she voluntarily lied to him... because she believed it was for the best.

Now, she no longer have any care what that meant.

The best.

For who?

It didn't make sense.  Suffering didn't make sense, when made in the name of the faceless many.

But they aren't faceless.  She knew each and every one of them, some even by name...

The people she wanted to protect...

The people who called out to her in those countless nightmares...

One of them had amber eyes...

_Don't let go..._

She thought of all those children who, like her, carried the potential... who could have lived normal lives if their minds were left unexplored, their gifts untapped...

She closed her eyes, hearing the words that etched themselves in her memory.  It was too late to save any of them... too late because the shields were too good, too strong for any of her kind, and before she even detected that such an experimental pre-cog facility existed, too many had already died...

Too many lives wasted, thrown into a maze of insanity when minds were forced to open like that, burned and seared with waves upon waves of electricity that only raw emotions, when drawn violently from within, can generate.   

She felt, rather than saw the torture they went through, the same torture they forced on her to determine her limits.

Only one survived that torture... only one was able to escape because she wouldn't let him go... 

Unlike the others, he was able to control the insanity, able to channel it into a dangerous advantage... 

Unlike the others, he survived the madness... or perhaps it was the madness of the world that allowed him to survive...

The girl could only wonder at what Battousai might feel if he knew all the facts.

If he knew what other things she had actually done and made him do, if only to pay the price of his sanity...

There was a commotion outside the room, and the door burst open, surprising her completely as the darkness gave way to amber...

He stood there in front of her, feet apart, katana in hand, eyes blinking back the darkness as he eagerly searched the room for her presence.

She struggled to stand up, knees buckling beneath her, as her hands slipped from the railing she had grasped for support.

In the next second, he was there beside her, holding her by the waist, eyes reverting back to their deepest purple.

"How did you get here?" he asked, eyes searching her face for answers.

It was a simple question.

She bowed down, unwilling to let him see her guilt.

"I..."

"Yes?"

The question was not for her, but for the figures blocking the doorway, guns ready...

"Take your hands off our property!!!!" one man cried out.            

She felt his hand curl tighter around her waist.

"YOUR property?"  

As if to emphasize his point, he lifted the girl off her feet and onto his shoulder, his other hand still on the katana, his eyes not leaving the heavily-armed men scowling at him. 

She gasped with surprise, Kenshin looking up at her, their attackers momentarily forgotten.

"Are you hurt?"

His voice was etched with worry, his hands feeling lighter on her waist.

If it was a smile, it was a poor attempt, but she smiled anyway.

"I'm alright, Kenshin..."

His eyes widened slightly at that, acknowledging the first time she uttered his name—the name she had used in place of Battousai...    

He wondered if the change held any meaning, but pushed the thought away, as the glint of metal drew his attention.

He nodded to her, then looked away, his eyes once more turning into slits of amber.

"I don't think we have any choice for now but to run..."

_W--we???_

This was the first time they had any real conversation, but already, their togetherness felt uncanny... surreal...

She would have allowed her thoughts to drift farther away, when gunshots filled the room, echoing distantly in her ear.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Author's comments:**

This story is kinda slow, I know, and though no one yet had commented on the slowness, I want you to know that I REALLY like to get Kenshin's butt moving, I mean, even I think he's SOOOO wordy, and SOOOO brooding.  I want more action, but had to take care of a lot of stuff that you guys might need to understand half of what's going on.  I need to get that out of the way, before the complications start piling up because there're a lot more to come.

            About Kaoru, well, she's still a little shaken, and will definitely be more moody in the next chapters, so please be patient.  Don't mistake her passiveness though, for feminine weakness (Hey, in my fic, there's none of those 'take me into your arms' kind of scenes.  Kaoru will NOT collapse in anyone's arms, because she's not THAT kind!!!  She WILL stand up on her own two feet, even if she loses both, and if Kenshin decides to ever take her, well, that's HIS decision.  Sorry for the Kagome fans of Inuyasha out there but that's an important difference between these two characters—Kagome can be so possessive she'd wish Kikyo out of the way for good, can fight bravely one moment, only to come up to her man to tell him she was "so afraid" and, much worse, can do, and in fact, did stupid things to make him worry.  THAT is so un-Kaoru.  Even if Kaoru did get jealous of Megumi (hey, the woman can be so bitchy sometimes), she had always respected Kenshin's feelings for Tomoe.  And about the worrying part, yes, even if Kenshin does worry about her, Kaoru never deliberately tried to make him so.  Okay, I'm babbling, make me stop, I'm an Inuyasha fan but I have my reasons for liking one character more than the other, even if from my own limited perspective.  Which is why I'm writing for RRK, rather than Inuyasha...isn't that obvious??? ^_^)  Anyway, as for this fic, I'll try to put in something to bring out the potential in Kaoru's character, which I think was not sufficiently explored in the manga and the TV series.              

Yeah, yeah, guilt is such a pain, and Kaoru has tons of them.  Will say more about that next time.

My thanks, by the way, to the following people who continue to inspire sessha:

**Akai Kitsune:  Yeah, thanks 4 the review!!!  Glad you stopped me from flaming this one (hides the flame thrower behind her back).  I'll get Kenshin's butt moving in the next few chapters.  Here, you don't see much action because it's too soon to have the complications out.  And Kenshin's always SO tense.  Wish he can be macho here, but I'd hate that (even if I promised an OOC thingie for the fic) because his divine shyness is so appealing!!!! (Blushes ^_^ waahhh!!!!!)**

**Nightrain:  You read Mercedes Lackey?  I stopped at "Magic's Pawn" because I got so obssessed with the male-to-male pairing it almost became my standard for romance!!!  (Hey, nothing wrong with male-to-male pairings, but to be tied up with just that is just as bad as accepting the reverse--that heterosexual coupling should be the standard, when love does transcend gender and sex... (Somebody just threw a tomato at me!!! Waaahhhh!!!!))**

**J:  How will I manage a K&K pairing here? Go fig, but one thing's for sure—I won't kill Tomoe just to make that possible.  Then again... they can end up together too... he, he, he got you there!!!!  Please don't stop sending your reviews!!!                **

**lere:  You're too kind for this world!!!  I'm personally devoting my work to you...**

**Ichigo-kun:  Thanks, but you're much more cool than this fic, sending me a review and all.  It makes me smile to know you're out there reading sessha's work...**

**SiLvEr_iris:  I speak Tagalog, since you asked, and I think Linay's "Broken Pieces" is just amazing!!!  I really love her writing.  Also, thanks for regarding me as one of the best!!!  Sessha doesn't deserve it, but it'll make him/her do wonders for this fic—I hope!!!  Please keep reviewing and send in your suggestions!!!! ^_^**

**Ann:  Kaoru's been captured by members of the syndicate running the joint where Kenshin later found himself, and Misao.  I didn't mention a lot of details about that here, because that's part of the mystery of Misao's involvement in this fic.  Oh, and Shinomori will make appearances soon, in connection with Saitoh's curiosity about his work, and something more...**

Thanks for the review, and keep on reading!!! ^_^

**Sandy:  Yeah, Tomoe's so damn obsessive—and as I've explained, it's part of her character in the OAV.  Kaoru's love for Kenshin may be just as intense as Tomoe's love for Akira, but can you imagine her actually doing something to kill someone who had killed her beloved?  No.  Tomoe has her strengths, though I think it is this dimension of hers which—though Kenshin wouldn't admit it bec. he's too kind—puts Kaoru slightly above her.  You know what I mean, K&K forever!!!!**

**kyanos:  I won't stop thanking readers like you.  You're just so wonderful to me!!! Thanks a million!!!**

**Jason M. Lee:  Please don't be TOO disappointed.  It breaks my heart—err...ego.  The repost was not intended to confuse readers... I was just too panicky the other day.  Will try not to be a first-class klutz next time!!!  (How about a second class klutz???  Nah!!!)  Thanks for always being there!!!!  **

**Kyaa-Kyaff:  I will always be your humble servant.  Sessha will always appreciate everything you've done to make this fic possible.  Thanks!!!   **

For the rest of you out there, I'll send my comments on your reviews in the next update.  Sayonara for now and enjoy the weekend!!!                                         

      


	7. In the Dark

Depend On You 

By Hotaru 

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own RRK—at least, not in this lifetime.

**Warning:**  PG-13 but no lemons here (just hints maybe ^_^)

**Also:**  I haven't read the reviews for the last chapter yet.  Don't worry guys, though.  I'll mention all of you in my next update, though that might take a while.   Nevertheless, I would like to thank **Sandy** for comments on this fic.  It's my favorite fic—far from good I know—so I can't really abandon this for long.  However, if everybody else hates it, I might pull down this fic for good, to make space for other RRK fanfics out there.  Sorry ^_^ 

To **Stray**, who beat the crap out of my ego with THAT review, well, stay alive, okay?  (Not a threat, not a threat!!!) Your review kept me going and in fact, inspired me to work on three NEW fics--"Heaven Help Me," "Wasurenaide" ("Do Not Forget") and "Heartbreak Café" (still in the works).  I do hope you'll go on reading other fics, and be more generous of your praise, since that's about all we get for our hard work and intense devotion to RRK.  At least **Sandy** understands…^_^ domo arigatou tomodachi!!!!

About my depression, hell, optimism got the better of me (K&K are optimists after all, ain't they?), but still, for the reviewers out there, please be kind.  I have a very hard life, and haven't had a wink of sleep for weeks.  The reason?  I'm finishing my master's thesis this May (on the subject of L2 Variability—aaarrrgh!!! vomits, sweatdrops), and might move on to my PhD in June (**NOT** in Creative Writing—zero talent there—but hopefully, in a univ. out there offering a scholarship in Sociolinguistics to poor souls like me) or settle for law, so I can stay in the country (Law?  YUCK, get real!!!).  This is why playing with RRK is like second childhood to me.  (Yeah, yeah I need to grow up, don't we all??? **^_^**).  Fanfic writers' and readers' precious companionship is the only thing that keeps me in touch with my sanity when days are "dark and deep," so please be kind and have more patience.  I promise to do my best.

About my age—hell, I'm NOT as old as (nor older than) our Oro-chan (In the manga, in the manga!!!) though I did say that somewhere here before…(Even Himura's age is something I envy, that's why—ha, ha!!!)  Anyway, older means wiser, doesn't it?  It seems though, that I caught a reverse spell somewhere…  

About my tenses…yare, yare, embarrassing as it seems, I do confuse them, don't I? (makes my thesis so much easier to write, believe me!!!)  Demo, I have to thank Linay and the rest who have pointed that out.  Thanks also to Akai Kitsune, Jason M. Lee, and SiLvEr_iris  (sorry for the late update!!!)  demo, I love you guys  **^_^  **!!!

Domo arigatou again for those who decided to stick it out with me.  I don't know when I have to leave, but I hope it won't be soon … (wwaaaahhhh…tears have poor dramatic effect so sessha settles for sweat drops ^~^)

Cheers ~ ^_^ ~ 

**Chapter 6:**  In the Dark

**My blindness creates you**

**Moulds you into shadow**

**As the darkness settles**

**Cloaks you, like rain. **

**But cease, there is no regret.**

**Because, it is when **

**You're invisible beyond words**

**That I see you **

**Most clearly**

Rapid ballistic shots fired through heavy automatic rifles and machine guns bounced through the smallness of the room, making the darkness even smaller as the ex-hitokiri glided out of danger, black wings rendering him almost invisible against shadows that embraced.  For her part, the Kamiya girl clutched the edges of the coat around her shoulders, trying to keep it from being completely blown away as Kenshin flew up, to the only ledge leading to the window above them, his eyes trained on the measured distance between the ledge and the ground that grew small beneath their feet.

The coat settled behind her, like wings folding back, as Kenshin eyed the window beside the ledge, which afforded him a full view of the rooftop outside the building.

It was going to be difficult, but his guts told him that it was their best means of escape.

Wordlessly, he began to kick the glass, breaking it into a hundred shards.

Kaoru wasn't sure if the crash that came next came from the guns, or the window giving way beneath the pressure of the ex-hitokiri's kick.  Even in her state of mental exhaustion though, she can hear snatches of his thoughts, most of them quiet mutterings about the precariousness of the situation, such as the state of the window--

**Stupid glass better not hurt her…**

--the logistics of jumping from the window to the rooftop—

**About 6 meters, plus excess weight of 120 pounds…    **

She frowned slightly when she heard that strange remark.  

_120 pounds???  I'm definitely NOT even over a hundred…_

--the consequences of their escape—

**I guess I must discuss with Saitou the arrangements for her return to HQ…**

Where they'd spend the night—

**I only hope Tomoe doesn't kill me…                         **

She knew only too well what that last remark meant.  Through those times that they forced her to track down Himura's whereabouts especially right after the Battousai's scandal with the media, she had heard the same name in his thoughts, so intimately conveyed.  She knew she was, and had often before, intruded into his privacy.  Not that it was a conscious choice.  Minds after all tolerate no barriers…

Her thoughts were forced back into the present when she felt his hands release her abruptly, gently allowing her body to fall on its own will to the ground beneath them.  The movement caused the ledge to shake slightly, forcing her to focus on the exact condition of where they were.  She noticed for example that the ledge was suspended about eight feet from the roof by thin iron bars, and overlooked the entire expanse of the rooftop of the warehouse extending to the right of the building where they were.  

_Must be for look-outs_…she thought, noticing as well how the ledge allowed a full view of the ground below, even over and above long rows of what seemed to be pieces of equipment blocking the other side of the room.  The darkness really did not afford a good overview of the whole place, though it would still, definitely, be the best position for anyone checking for movement on the ground below, which dropped to about thirty feet or so.

Thinking about it now, she understood why Himura would take risks bringing her there when other means of escape—less strategic perhaps, but nevertheless more convenient—would have presented an easier way for him to use his sword and meet the attackers head-on.  What she couldn't quite believe though was the fact that he was able to take her that high while at the same time avoiding the mad volley of shots that hounded their backs.

No wonder he had deadly enemies.  His skills would tempt any man to challenge his claim to invincibility.

"Look," he began hesitantly, his eyes shifting back and forth from her to the darkness on the ground below.  Above them, a ray of moonlight touched his scar, throwing shadows around his face that made it all the more darkly appealing.

He turned to her, and the moonlight lit his eyes, purple pools of emotion reflecting the light…  

"…I think it would be best if…"

He stopped, his head thrown back as he listened to the darkness beneath them.  Then as if on impulse, he threw his body over her when the shots came intermittently like rain, punching holes through the glass remains of the window beside them, several of them also hitting the edge of the ledge and rocking it slightly.

Just as I thought… Kenshin thought, holding her against his chest, one hand pushing her head down gently.  This is no good.  She must stay behind… 

In the next second he was standing up, sword poised for the inevitable.

"Stay here alright?" he told her gently, as if speaking to a child.  "I'd be back."

I hope… 

He felt a tug against his side, forcing him to stop and look behind him, as he prepared for his descent.

His eyes went over her in alarm, noting that she was again barely clothed, shivering under the moonlight, which cast bluish pale hues on her already pale skin, making its smooth ivory texture shimmer.  What got his attention though was the fact that her hand held out his black cloak to him, sapphire eyes begging him to take it.

He wondered at that.  It was clear she was in more desperate need of the cloak than he, at least in that particular situation.

"Take it.  It will hide your sword on your way down."  

He had known that of course.  But he'd die rather than snatch the cloak off her frail body for his own protection… 

She shook slightly, a gust of wind from the window making her shiver uncontrollably.  

He shook his head, slight impatience gnawing at him as shouts began to echo below.  He knew that the high powered guns required several minutes to reload.  Once the reloading was complete though, it can kill an army, firing as many as a hundred bullets in five seconds…

But she wouldn't take the cloak back and she made sure her eyes showed it.  "You better take it, with this moonlight reflecting on your sword and making your position so…conspicuous…"

His eyes widened at that, anticipating the logic of the argument, which his feelings refused to consider.  Her determination, however, was a factor he had not anticipated.  Her sapphire eyes had the saddest but the most determined resolve in them, and in the light of the moon, it was hard not to admire the contrast of those eyes with the smallness of her body, shaking vulnerably against the sudden breeze.  

In the moonlight, she looked so vulnerable…not helpless, but somehow vulnerable just the same…

After all, how can you call helpless someone who was offering more protection than she could give? 

He smiled, and she returned it with a quizzical stare, her lips quivering as if poised to ask a question.

 "Domo arigatou," he told her simply, taking the cloak reluctantly, and pulling its length around him to cover his back.  "Now I had to be back sooner or you'd REALLY catch a cold this time…" 

Then he was gone, disappearing again into the darkness below.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

Megumi would have been charmed at Sanosuke Sagara's unexpected display of concern, but she had given her word to Tomoe Yukishiro, and she was not about to break it.  She turned to him slightly, fingers fidgeting with the frilly V-neckline of her dress.

"Really, Sagara, do you think I'd let you back out on this deal?  Doing that would put me into bigger trouble you know… I mean, just when I've given my clients the final go…"

She was lying of course.  Tomoe hardly fitted into the picture of a dangerous client, which she was trying to paint for the intel protocol officer, but she didn't really have any choice.  After all, admitting the true nature of her interest in this Kenshin Himura might get Sagara convinced that her request was not earth-shaking enough to be taken seriously… 

I just honestly wish he REALLY, TRULY ain't that smart… 

"Are you even listening to me Takani?" he asked, stopping the car in front of a porch, which have violet pansies in them.  She didn't know exactly how to react to that, confused both at his quiet retort, and the fact that they were parked in front of a house rather than a building somewhere in the commercial avenues of Tokyo.

Then she remembered the sharp turn they made sometime in the middle of their conversation.  Sagara must have taken advantage of her distraction and brought her to a place like this.

A place that, strange as it seems, looked like home…

He fished for the key in his pocket, somehow avoiding the dark gaze she had been bestowing him since he pulled her out of the car gently, insistently, when she refused to budge.  Only the assurance that their stop-over, as he called it, has significance to the case she had been offering him to take, got her on her feet.

He pushed the door and in a few minutes, she was surrounded by total darkness.

Then an arm snaked around her waist, pulling—no—dragging her across the darkly invisible room into what seemed to be a niche—a chamber that fitted only two people.

The ground moved and came to a sudden halt.  

She panicked.

When she was about ready to scream, rough but gentle hands clamped on her mouth, forcing her to take the other, only alternative.

She bit his hand.

"Ow, for God's sakes Megumi, will you stop THAT!!!"

She drew back from him the moment he took his hand away, then reached beneath the skirt of her dress, drawing out a pistol.

"You start talking right now, Sagara, or I'd blow off that useless top of yours like a hat!!!" she cried out to him in panic, aiming the gun to his head almost shakily, thighs showing through the high slits of her voluptuous red dress.

"Hell, Takani, even rooster heads don't deserve that kind of death—after all the shit I'd have to go through convincing Soujiro that you're on our side…"

Megumi narrowed her coal-black eyes at him, brows furrowed dangerously.  "What side are you talking about, and who the hell is Soujiro???!!!"

"I am," a voice answered in the darkness.

Then the room was suddenly flooded with light.

"Welcome Miss Megumi Takani," the boyish voice announced, a wide smile gracing his upturned lips.  "Welcome to the Labyrinth."

For the life of her, she didn't know what to say to that.

. . . . . . . . . .

Kenshin knew that he had been shot the moment the bullet entered his shoulder, blood spewing out by the force of the explosion of that bullet against his skin.  He grimaced slightly, ignoring the pain, though his shoulder numbed when he moved it, refusing to cooperate.

How did he got shot exactly?  It had to do with the stupid guy climbing the only railing leading to the ledge.   In fact, in his desperation and panic, he cut it off smoothly, in one swift arc of his blade, but not before exposing his back to the enemy.

The railing was at least twenty feet across the room from his position.  Even superhuman speed can't save his back even if he used twice his normal ability…

"THAT was stupid, ain't it Battousai…" a voice boomed in the darkness.

He grimaced, noting the strange familiarity of the voice.

Amber searched through the darkness to meet the face that matched that voice.

"Saitou Hajime…" he grunted, pulling his arm with him as he ambled towards his target.  "You son-of-a-bitch…"

"Hell, Himura, what a way to greet someone who had been an old friend…at least once."

"Friend?" Kenshin repeated, a mad scowl on his face as he squinted at the tall, lanky figure of a man standing before him, in the same blue uniform that he always sported on his missions.  "You must be an even greater moron to believe that I trusted you as a friend, Saitou…"

Saitou Hajime laughed at that, a rasping little laugh, as he met the angry amber flickering from across the darkness at him.  "We are, I agree, better enemies than friends, Himura.  I'm sorry if my men had been rough on you, over-eager these scumbags are, to finish the legendary assassin…"

"It's a bit strange though that you should be apologizing to an enemy…" Kenshin told him quietly this time, fingertip grazing the edge of his sword.  "After all, I've always known that beneath that hide of yours is nothing but dirt…"

"Hah, as if I expected any compliments from you, Himura," Saitou muttered, lighting a cigarette.  "Demo, if you're as good as you claim to be you fuckin' smartass, you'd realize that either as enemies or friends we're working for the same government and the same bunch of people who wanted you on this mission.  Sad to say though, that mission ends here.  As you can see, some of my men had already been injured, and casualties are not to be taken lightly, given that these bozos have also been enlisted by the JIB to work on Kamiya's case."

Kenshin's head was spinning, not from blood loss, but from the fact that his details confused him.  The Intelligence Bureau enlisting underground scoundrels like these to handle a delicate mission? He didn't quite get it…

"Explain what you mean by that right now, if you still value that head of yours, officer," he growled, using the derogatory name once more to refer to the intel agent.

In the darkness, the katana gleamed, the silvery blue hue matching the ray of moonlight darting through the single opening above their heads.

Saitou flicked away the ashes of his cigarette, allowing the slight wind to carry it a little way before it fell under the single ray of moonlight dividing the darkness between him and the ex-hitokiri.  "You want the truth Himura?  Are you sure you're up to it?"

Kenshin growled low, like a caged animal assaulted from without.  "If you can afford it, Saitou.  Though with things standing as they are, I don't think there's any choice in the matter.  Either the truth or your stupid army.  Including your head."

He had to sigh at that, not from fear, or frustration, but from an uncanny feeling in the pit of his stomach.  His guts tell him that with or without the truth on Himura's side, he will not give in to his demands.

Not that keeping Himura ignorant of the entire scheme was his personal desire.  It was a matter of strategy that certain facts can't be revealed to him, prior to his involvement in the mission.

Because the military needed the girl's cooperation for the plan to work.   And the truth will just get in the way…

As if by impulse, his eyes glided to the ledge above them, his eyes squinting at the light entering the broken window.

Sapphire eyes immediately met his, the aura pulsating with an energy he knew only too well.

THIS was what Katsura had been afraid of.

Kamiya had read his thoughts and knew that the truth was FAR from what Kenshin Himura had been led to believe.

And so, the outcome of just about everything depends on Himura's decision—as it had always been.    

. . . . . . . . . . 

"The Labyrinth?  Would you fucking explain to me what that's about, Sagara" Megumi demanded, not daring to put her gun down.

"Look sweetheart," Sanosuke began, reaching out to take her weapon away.

She moved back, gripping it more tightly, and pointing it back as determinedly as before.  "You stay away from me rooster-head, or I'll shoot, dammit!!!!"

"Okay, kay, got your point, Takani," he tried to reassure her, watching her shoulders rise and fall with her breathing.  "But I would like to have you know that no one's gonna hurt you while I'm around, so put that stupid thing away before you hurt someone!!!"

Megumi thought about that, eyes shifting from him to Soujiro, who continued to smile, indifferent to her threats.  "No stupid jokes this time, Sagara, or my hands might just get a little itchy and pull the trigger before you can say 'cheese'."

"Alright already!!!" Sano told her grumpily, sitting on the nearest chair he could find behind him.  "Now, do you prefer to stand there all night or would you like to sit down and listen?  This story's gonna be rather long…not that you can't stay over for the night…"

Even with her eyes narrowed contemptuously at him, he could afford to laugh and joke about having a more than platonic relationship with her.  She had to smile at that—mentally at least.

Pulling a chair she spotted in a corner, Megumi sat down warily, pointing the gun down only when Sano made no move to close the distance between them.  

She laid the gun on her lap, crossing her legs as Sano eyed her thighs impishly, with just a little more than his usual curiosity.  She looked daggers at him for that.  "So what's this Labyrinth about?  Who organized it, what's it for, and what made you think I'd go along with it?"

"Hey, hey, just one at a time, sweetheart," he laughed, putting his hands at the back of his head and leaning back lazily.  "Soujiro, why don't you enlighten the nice young lady on the subject instead of just smiling there like some nutcake?  I'm sure you know the history of the organization better than any one of us."

"Of course," the young man, who looked barely out of his teens answered confidently, his eyes shining almost with childish glee.  Megumi can't help feeling creepy around him though.  The boy was definitely charming, but in ways that hardly seem…normal…

"You see, Miss Takani, the _Labyrinth _as we call it is a large underground network that filters information on all the active and non-active organizations that are operating under the legal sanctions of the  JIB.   This means that we have access to all the files of the intel agents, their preoccupations for the past ten years or so, and their current status within the JIB."

"And how do you do that?" she asked, eyes taking in rows upon rows of computers and wide LCD screens practically covering entire walls.  It became obvious to her that the house was just a camouflage, a ploy, and the entire complex was several levels under the ground, accessible through some secret transport system that Sano dragged her in minutes ago.  

Her mind went back to her question.  

"With all that amount of data you need, I guess hacking computers is something more like a necessary preoccupation, isn't it? Though how you accomplish that legally bothers me.  In fact, the whole idea sounds peculiarly contradictory.  How can the government allow you to do such things in the first place?"

"Uhhh," Soujiro began, scratching his head and smiling a lot more.  "Not all of JIB's involvements are legal. I thought you know that by now…"

Megumi could have smacked him right in the face for making her look unbelievably stupid.  "I work only on the legal aspects of the case, maybe" she muttered, scowling at him.

He laughed, obviously amused at her reaction.  "Is that the reason you're helping Miss Tomoe Yukishiro track down Mr. Kenshin Himura, no less than the legendary Hitokiri Battousai of years ago?"

She flushed at that, turning towards Sanosuke Sagara with hate-filled eyes.  "I can't believe you would go so far as spy on MY personal issues!!!"

"Big deal, can't a man do some research about the love of his life and get some small compliment at least?  I was worried sick about you getting into trouble that's all…"

Megumi clenched her fists.  "Me getting into trouble???  My behind!!!  Nobody says OUR job is all sweet and rosy, dammit!!!"

"I know.  Which is why I've been intending to keep track of your activities from now on.  And what better way to do that than to keep you close for good?"

Megumi fumed.  She can't believe how dense this guy is!!!  Can't he take a big fat NO for an answer???

By the looks of it, there's no way THAT can even become a possibility…    

"So," she began, a little tiredly, looking away from Sanosuke's intense gaze.  "HOW are you planning to convince me that the Labyrinth is my BEST option?"

"Easy," Soujiro told her nonchalantly, grinning slightly.  "We'll tell you exactly where Himura is, and how you can contact him.  Is that a deal?"

She thought about it, then squeezed her eyes at Soujiro, glaring at him suspiciously.  "And why would you give that kind of information to me just like that?  Isn't there supposed to be a catch here somewhere?"

Soujiro and Sanosuke looked at each other, their expression singular.  It was Soujiro, however, who motioned to speak up, eyes shimmering with a different kind of emotion this time, the usual smile fading completely from his lips.

Maybe he wasn't that _strange _really, as she presumed he was… 

He sighed audibly, meeting her gaze reluctantly.  "Actually, Himura's our only key to finding someone of value to us.  Someone who's been an asset to the organization for a long time.  If we're lucky, Himura would be helping us retrieve this person without him even knowing it."

Megumi looked away, vaguely comprehending the facts she had little concern with.  After all, her only goal is Himura.  Kenshin Himura.  Anybody else would have to take the sidelines from there.

. . . . . . . . . . 

Saitou snickered at the look of death the ex-assassin threw his way, the moment he spied the girl's presence above them.

It was not unlike him to be protective of course.  In fact, that had been the primary reason why Battousai was still the most efficient bodyguard the service ever had, having saved hundreds of lives including the most important politicians the world has ever known…

Battousai had always been a tool…a weapon…and like all tools and weapons, he'd outlive his use…

This man who now calls himself Kenshin Himura, however, was slightly different from that man.  Whereas Battousai obeyed as if by compulsion and necessity, Himura reasoned and refused.  But like the Battousai, he had one weakness.  Principles.  The details of that may have slightly changed when his identity changed, but they've remained the same in spirit and essence, really.

Equal justice for all.

It's just as simple as that.

But when had justice been a simple matter?  After all, it was the thin line between justice and revenge that separated Himura from Battousai.

And it is likewise that same thin line that might spell his ultimate choice.

"So," Kenshin advanced, keeping his eyes on Saitou as he moved across the room, planting himself directly below the ledge.  "Are you going to talk or should I leave before I let my sword spill your guts out?"

Saitou lighted another cigarette, casually discarding a half-finished one on the floor.  "Kamiya is a state property, that much had been made clear to you prior to any of this, isn't it?"

Kenshin looked away, somehow feeling embarrassed to admit that in front of the girl who he knew was listening to every word they were saying.  "What's the point?"

"Two months ago we discovered her connection to another underground intelligence network that had been running, theoretically speaking, under the very noses of the JIB.  The network is believed to be dangerously involved in a lot of operations both legal and otherwise, and since it must rely on information of quite astronomical proportions to manage its operations, we decided to trace its network to some possible sources…"

Kenshin caught the drift of what Saitou was trying to say, his frown deepening in contemplation.  "So you decided to have Miss Kamiya examined is that it???"

Saitou nodded.  "That's' just about it, I guess."

Kenshin narrowed his amber eyes at him in disbelief.  "No.  It's hardly just about that, I'm sure. "

"Oh?"

"You hired Dr. Enishi Yukishiro, no less than the son of the late genetics and precog specialist, Dr. Takeda Yukishiro, to perform unscrupulous experiments on the girl.  When, by some strange, perverted reason he refused to give her back, you decided to re-hire Battousai to forcibly take her and return her to your boss. That stands to reason, doesn't it, Saitou Hajime???"

"I've never thought a fondness for logic can take things that far, Himura…"

"And I never thought all that smoking could get into your head and clog your brains, Saitou Hajime…"

"I don't think this conversation has any hope of turning to my favor, so forgive me Himura if we have to take what we came here for in the first place."

Behind him, a row of armed men in military uniform appeared, their guns poised at the ex-assassin for the kill.

"As you can see, I'm a step ahead of you again, Himura.  In fact, all we needed you for is to get Kamiya out of the building.  Once released from whatever shields Enishi used to keep us from using our trackers, we used this new device to trace her presence back at the alley where you so carelessly allowed her to escape.  Of course, I can't say that Shishio's goons had no hand in all these.  It was his men after all who picked her up and out of that alley and brought her here.  I'd admit it took a matter of minutes for me and my men to get here, but if you were just a bit too late in coming, Kamiya would have been back safely at HQ and you, Himura, would have been enjoying an intimate welcome back party from that oversexed girlfriend of yours…" 

The device looked similar to the microchip Enishi had pulled out of the girl's nape back at the laboratory, but Kenshin just wasn't interested in it anymore.  Even the snide remark about Tomoe was not enough to distract him from what he intended to do.    

It's quite clear to him now.

"I swear Saitou, THIS won't be the last time…"

Before Saiotu could give his men the order to shoot, Kenshin flung a wire attached to his belt up and around one of the iron posts of the ledge, then swung his body slightly to avoid the volley of shots that followed his fast ascent towards the suspended landing where Kamiya waited, eagerly facing him when he reached for her shoulder as if by instinct…

"Dammit, we want a clear shot, do you hear me???  Killing the girl with Himura is NOT an option, you idiots!!!" Saitou screamed, violently flicking away his cigarette before training his own gun at the ex-assassin.

The black coat efficiently covered the girl's small body, now cradled against the dark shadow of the ex-assassin.

Saitou would have gotten a clear shot of the back of his head, but then…

"This might hurt a little, but we've got no other choice Miss Kamiya…" Kenshin told her , voice thick with worry as his eyes gauged the six meter drop they would have to attempt from the window to the rooftop of the adjacent warehouse building.

She sighed audibly, afraid and at the same time relieved to have him back in one piece.  Except for the ghastly wound which soaked his sweater, trailed his arm, and stained her cheeks in the process, she was quite content with the outcome of the events, glad that Himura did not allow them to take her back.  After all, as much as she hated being trapped in Enishi's den, she didn't relish the thought of working for the same assholes who had manipulated her mercilessly for years…

He looked down at her, wiping the blood off her cheek with one gloved fingertip.  She looked up at him, startling him—as well as herself—with a smile.

 She had not smiled for the longest time, and feeling it on her own lips was strange, almost unfamiliar, making her gasp.  He took it as a sign that she was cold, and proceeded to wrap her in his arms tighter, forcing himself to concentrate on the distance below them as he released the wire, attaching an extra hook to the waist of the coat wrapped around her.  Then, with a slight tug, he let the wire go, catching her light figure in his free arm as they began their descent, silently hoping that he would never have to use the same gadgets that Katsura himself had made sure he make good use of, in this mission…

As they descended down the rooftop and away from the noise of bullets, she silently promised that she would personally attend to the wound bleeding through the wool of his shirt, the wound that strange as it seems, both stained and warmed her skin.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

**Author's comments**:  I could have proceeded to writing the lemon part here but decided to build some more suspense into it, afraid that I might rush into it and ruin it.  (Not that delaying it guarantees success…sheesh…I hate thinking about possibilities, possibilities…aaarrrgh, migraine!!!!)

He he he…"oversexed girlfriend"?  Yare, yare, I'd try to be nicer to Tomoe like I promised from the start okay?  Anyway, this was Saitou's opinion, so I was thinking that you guys would understand and excuse the foul language  (kicks Saitou's butt out of the room) ^_^

Oh, and JBI stands for Japan Intelligence Bureau.  I was thinking that maybe since this is a futuristic fic, it's okay if I invent names for government agencies and political organizations.  The same goes for "Labyrinth," I  guess.

This long chapter was supposed to make up for the long delay in updating this fic.  I'd be busy for a while, so it may take me some time to get back on track.

Hope you enjoyed it.  Ciao!!!!  ^_^    

     

  


	8. End Roll

Depend On You By Hotaru 

**Disclaimer:  **RRK is not mine.  It belongs to Sony and Nobuhiro Watsuki who got the idea from Hotaru…errr…joking of course… ^_^

**Warning: ** Just a little WAFF, the regular OOC stuff, and bloody torture for Kaoru.  If that upsets you though, do not proceed—especially those K&K fans out there who are a little protective of Kaoru (Please put down your flame throwers… Heck, can I settle for tomatoes?)  Anyway, all comments are welcome, good or bad—so long as you tell me what's wrong, okay?  And be a little nice.  I do have feelings.

            Oh, there's also a bit of K/T here, but please don't mistake Kaoru's role as similar to Tomoe's because their roles here are NOT even remotely related.  Flame me but I don't appreciate the Kaoru-as- Battousai's-Tomoe kind of casting.   I mean, I don't even buy the lame  "I'll be your sheath stuff" which, I think, is totally UNCOOL!!!  In fact, I kinda like the opposite… "I'll be your sakaba stuff" he he he  ^_^   

**Also:  **To my reviewers, you will find my thanks and comments on your reviews at the end of this chapter.  Again, special mention to my good friend **Sandy** who's out there.  Hope you enjoy reading this one!!!  ^_^

Just in case some of you lost track of the preceding chapters, here's a little summary.  **Again, happy reading!!!  Chapter 7 follows the summary so you can skip the stuff below if you don't need a reminder.**

^_^

**Prologue:**  A short phone conversation between Saitou and Himura, which reveals the latter's mixed feelings about a lot of things—his work, Tomoe, and the complications that his potential assignment might bring…  

**Chapter 1:**  Information Specialist Saitou tries to convince Kenshin Himura, an ex-assassin now Special Tactical Operations Officer working for the Japanese Bureau of Intelligence (JBI), that he needed to go undercover to rescue a special intel agent who had been kidnapped by an underground network of terrorists—or so he was led to presume…  Kenshin talks to Katsura to know more about the case, and to be convinced, while somewhere in the midst of his confusion, he also proposes to Tomoe Yukishiro to be his wife.  

**Chapter 2: ** Alone in his apartment, Kenshin receives a "mental line" from someone whose voice had been calling out to him ever since he began to think about the assignment.  In the end, Kenshin agrees to Katsura and Saitou's proposal but on the condition that he be granted an early retirement.  Leaving Tomoe with nothing but a promise to be back, he storms into a facility where the intel agent was supposed to be held captive by a certain Dr. Enishi Yukishiro.  Meanwhile, somewhere in the darkness, Saitou meets an 'old rival' who is after Kenshin Himura—another ex-assassin by the name of Aoshi Shinomori… 

**Chapter 3: ** Tomoe confronts Katsura to get the truth about Kenshin's abrupt disappearance.  Meanwhile, Kenshin and Dr. Yukishiro finally meet face to face…

**Chapter 4: ** Tomoe asks the help of her cousin, Megumi Takani, a medical specialist and investigation officer also working for the JBI, to track down Kenshin Himura, whom she believes might have been blackmailed by the government to get him to work on an underground mission.  Meanwhile, Kenshin fights Enishi and escapes with the intel agent, a girl he knew only by her last name, which is Kamiya…

**Chapter 5:**  To help Tomoe, Megumi seeks Sanosuke Sagara's expertise to track down Kenshin Himura. Meanwhile, in the course of their escape, Kamiya, distraught and confused from the effect of Dr. Yukishiro's drugs, violently attacks a man who sexually assaults her.  Kenshin saves the man from the effects of her psychic attack only to lose her again when she escapes from him and falls into the hands of unknown captors… Frantic, Kenshin searches for her and arrives at an underground joint where he meets a familiar face, Makimachi Misao, daughter of a general with whom he had dealings before as an assassin… 

**Chapter 6:**  Kenshin finally succeeds in tracing the Kamiya girl's presence only to find himself fighting a group of goons and cutthroats armed to the teeth with heavy guns and firepower equipment.   In the middle of the fight, Saitou suddenly appears only to tell Kenshin that the mission is over.  Kenshin's suspicions, however, gets the better of him, forcing Saitou to confirm even darker secrets behind Kamiya's involvement with the JIB… Meanwhile, Sano introduces Megumi to the "Labyrinth" where Soujiro explains why they need her cooperation in return for crucial information about Kenshin Himura…As for Himura and Kamiya, there seems to be no alternative but to escape both sides, their shadows finally vanishing into the darkness and into oblivion…   

**Chapter 7:  End Roll**

****

**In the stillness of trees**

**Shadows dance**

**Like restless thoughts of you**

**They stumble over each other**

Teasing words out. 

**I sigh.**

**There's nothing here**

**Only the pale flicker**

**Of a moon**

**Letting dreams part us**

**For just one moment.**

A pair of ravens descended into the darkness, one caught beneath the other's wings, confused eyes giving way to courage as amber meets darkness.  In the silence of the trees, the shadows fleeted invisibly in and out of the spaces of light and dark under the moonlight, hounded by the silenced crash of bullets against wind.

One stopped, looking both ways, then at the other shadow beside him.  "You alright Kamiya?"

Sapphire orbs turned to him, pale whiteness scarred by faint traces of blood.  "My name's Kaoru."

He studied her features, somehow awed by the sharp contrast of red and blue on her face.  Something in the blue depths of her eyes urged him to smile faintly.  "Well then, Miss Kaoru…are you alright?"

A flicker of amusement lit up the smile that met his.  "Hai, Kenshin."

He smiled grimly, touching her cheek again with his fingertip to erase the blood.  Something about her eyes gave his body that natural compulsion, as if the sight and smell of his blood on her face was much more intolerable than the blood that oozed from his shoulder, staining the rest of his clothing.

She felt him wince when he moved his hand to touch her face, eyes hovering over the color on her cheeks.  

Purple depths surfaced like ripples on a pool when firm hands grabbed his own, almost surprising Kenshin with the abruptness of the touch.  

"The blood…" she told him softly, shaking her head slightly when he gave her a questioning gaze.  "It doesn't really matter all that much, Kenshin… Demo…we need to dress that wound before you practically faint all over me…"

_Faint? _His mind half-chuckled at the thought.  He put down his hand and nodded.  "I agree…demo…it's not really THAT bad…and besides…"

He trailed, his eyes becoming keen as they darted to the shadows stealthily, trying to sense something beyond the invisible barrier of darkness cloaking them.

She frowned, suddenly distraught.  Is he contradicting her?  Not that Battousai wasn't known for being stubborn…"Besides what, Kenshin?"

He looked at her, noting the curiosity and impatience etched on her childish face.  "Worrying…I'm not used to anyone doing that sort of thing for me…"

"Not even Tomoe-san?"

That doesn't seem to be a good retort.  He looked away, purple depths receding into hollow flickers of amethyst.  

Kaoru froze, looking at her feet as if the ground had suddenly become interesting. 

"Ummm…Gomen, Himura-san." 

She even threw in a honorific for sincerity.

Silence.  

She looked up and frowned.  He wasn't even paying attention.  

"Hey, don't tell me you're THAT mad at me, Kenshin!!!"

His response to that however was even more peculiar.  She watched him with glazed blue eyes as he parted the black coat they shared and stepped forward into the shadows.  His eyes and ears seemed to be tracing something in the air, so it was hard to tell whether he was simply trying to avoid her gaze, or was in fact, too distracted with more important things to consider her outburst seriously.

Either way, he made it clear to her that he didn't want to talk about his personal issues…      

**Not that it's even my business…demo…I shouldn't have made those assumptions about him…**

****

**After all…whatever was and is between him and Tomoe-san is just that.  Private.**

****

**But does he have to be sooo defensive???**

A shadow moved across her, blocking the ray of moonlight on her face.  She looked up to find him staring at her, his steady gaze almost soft.   "Are you rested?"

She looked away, somehow finding his presence both soothing and disturbing.  She could only thank his shadow for hiding whatever shade of red her face had taken at that particular moment.  

It was not like the question was something to blush about, even.

**Stupid, baka Kaoru!!! **

He was still looking at her, observing her flushed face with just a tinge of worry and curiosity.  _Is she not feeling well???_

"Uhhh, naze Kenshin?"

"Naze?"

"Why did you ask about my being rested?  Is there something wrong?" 

Kenshin had to flinch at that, wondering how he lost track of the conversation so quickly.  

His instincts were quick to respond.  Rule number one:  Teach your hostage to give a straight answer.

He frowned mentally, familiar with the Battousai part of him which was quick to take over when matters get out of hand.  _Heck, it's not even like she's my hostage or something.  _

Kaoru, for her part, felt very tempted to pry his thoughts open, but thought otherwise.  With Kenshin's ki and senses being almost as highly sensitive, a mental line of this proximity would just give him migraine.  Besides, if he was indeed busy thinking about something crucial, a direct mental interference might simply confuse and disorient…something even Kenshin won't appreciate.  

She looked at him, waving her hand over his face to get his attention.  "Kenshin?  Is there something you're not telling me?"

He looked past her, into the darkness and beyond.  "I don't think it's safe here anymore…"

She nodded quietly, eyes hardening into his as she looked away.  "Well then…I guess you're the expert…Himura-san…"

_The expert?_  He noted the slight edge in her voice and followed her gaze, a frustrated sigh escaping him.   

_How could I be even mad at this girl?_  he asked himself, observing how her eyes shifted from the deepest blue to a silvery, aquamarine hue that betrayed her sullen moods.  He would admit though, that apart from THAT there was hardly anything else that was childish about her…well…except maybe the way she had just turned her small head away, so he could not see the questions wanting to be asked in her curious blue eyes.  Her courage, her pose, her voice…everything spoke of a quiet sort of authority that was a strange combination of both impudent stubbornness and adolescent responsibility.  Talk about adolescence, he found her curiosity just a little unnerving, if not downright shocking.   He wouldn't even dare inquire how she could have known about Tomoe.  If Kaoru was indeed the girl Saitou and Katsura described she was, she would know anything and everything about him… 

That almost made him blush.  _Everything?_

Intimate moments came to him unbidden, forcing him to blush an even deeper red.  Thank the gods the shadows did much to hide his flushed face. 

**I think it would be best if Miss Kaoru and I have a talk about how FAR she can really know about anything …**

She stopped, breath catching in her throat when he moved towards her, grabbing her by the waist.

He could not help but suppress a mental smile when she turned to him with a flushed face, obviously taken by the gesture.

He didn't mean to surprise her like that, even if it DOES seem amusing—with this jumpiness of hers, these emotional reflexes that bordered into extremes…

He felt he needed to explain just before she could push him away—not that his arm on her waist meant anything even remotely intimate.  All he wanted to do, after all, was to get away from Saitou and Enishi as fast and as far as they can both manage.

Running would, of course, be more efficient.  But the girl can't even walk properly after being strapped on that bed since god knows when.          

And carrying all 120 pounds of her weight around isn't also something to look forward to, with that wound of his throbbing like hell in that other arm.  But…

"Gomen Miss Kaoru, demo, we need to move.  Now."

"I thought you said we can walk…"

"That was five minutes ago…"

She raised her eyebrows at him.  "And?"

Kenshin looked around, his muscles tensing.  "Gomen…I don't want you to worry but this place gives me a bad feeling… I'd really feel much better if we leave right now."

She moved her head sideways, trying to see through the darkness the way he did when he tried avoiding her question.

"I don't sense anything, Kenshin…"

He frowned slightly at that.  He remembered suddenly that he was not the ONLY one who had that keen sense.  Hers might even be more accurate, considering that she was especially gifted…

He strained his hearing, closing his eyes.

"Besides…" she went on, smiling wryly as she pointedly looked at the hand that was still latched to her waist.  "I don't think you can handle the weight of a heavy 120-pound woman in your condition, can you?"  

       **__**

**_Oro!!!_****  _She heard me say that???_**

He opened his eyes, amazed to find a mischievous pair of blue silently challenging him to confirm her suspicions.  It was his turn to look away to hide his thoughts.   "Uhhh, demo…"

"Weeelll, Kenshin???" she urged, frowning at his obvious evasion.  She couldn't understand why she felt this comfortable in his presence, like they've always talked and embarrassed each other like this.  Is it because in their not so distant past—the past that got them entangled in the most deadly game of their lives—they had formed an unconscious bond repressed as it seems, by a consciousnessprogrammed to forget?

She looked at him, watching the slight hesitation in his serious features.  _But as I've been warned before, such bonds can only be one-sided…_

She saw the glimmer of amethyst and amber weaving in and out of his eyes, his thoughts shifting and sifting through countless possibilities.

Not that I should even be concerned…  

**But still…**

His eyes…they held so much…so many emotions suppressed by unwanted memories, scarred by so much trauma and regret that it was a miracle he managed to keep his sanity for so long…

**He might look older, sound older, but to me, I guess he'd always be a child… ** **Just a child really…someone who lost his innocence a little too soon…because…**

She closed her eyes, remembering the first time she took control of his mind.

**Because they let me took his childhood that day I gave him the reason to kill…**

**First, with Jineh…**

**But the first was just the beginning of the end because it was the day Battousai, the demon, was born…**

**Of course, nobody…not even the world's toughest criminals and assassins had been a match for him…**

**Dakara, Battousai became the most efficient tool the government ever had…because I allowed them to use me… For principles I hardly understood, I allowed myself to turn his rage into instincts that kill… **

She remembered how he looked in one of those nights, holding his sword under a hard rain, amber eyes parting the sea of darkness like lightning… 

**He was so afraid…afraid of the darkness…**

**And the compulsions that came with it. **

She looked at him, and wondered.  Wondered at Saitou's words, at snatches of thoughts spoken behind shielded walls, defense barriers, invisible silences meant to block her mind from overhearing.

But she knew long before what the JBI had planned to do with him.

Which is why she vowed to set him free.

But it was not very easy.  And for a while, the "Labyrinth" was useful…The exposure of the Battousai's identity, his dealings with politicians, bureaucrats, and the underground military police network…

They were all connected.

Even his meeting with Tomoe Yukishiro.  She had arranged that, didn't she?

But for what?  To play Fate?  Isn't that what went wrong in the first place?  When they used her to decide his destiny, as they did with so many others?           

**How can I? Did I give him the strength to go on…**

**Only to let them pull him back to the grave?**

She remembered Katsura's words then: ** Minds know no barriers…He needs you to survive…and unless he goes on the way he is…an assassin, a murderer that dares to stand the ground between sanity and madness so that this generation can have a second chance at life, there is no use for him in THIS life… Which is why you will help him tread this tightrope…this thin line between good and evil, this border between redemption and damnation, because for one who has already sunk himself so deeply into the river of blood, there is no other choice but to swim across or drown…He had gone so far… Sin is a hard thing, but a soul once tainted can only have faith in the logic of suffering… He will suffer…but without you, he won't even live long enough to see the end of it…  **

****

She closed her eyes.  **_I wanted him to live…but…will he ever see the end of that suffering life??? _**

She stared at the gaping wound on his shoulder…and saw the wounds he had suffered so many times before…like that scar on his left cheek. 

A body as scarred as its soul… 

****

She shook her head mentally, Katsura's words attaching itself to her own words…

****

**_…can have nothing but faith in the logic of suffering…_**

She thought deeply about that…about those battles fought to save strangers such as herself…__

****

**_Was it worth our lives, Kenshin?  Your peace of mind, your happiness, was our security worth all that loss???_**

****

**_Sometimes weakness isn't so bad…_**

She looked at him, unshed tears washing over the pain of those scarred memories.  __

**_Sometimes I wish you never had to be strong for anyone…_**

****

**_Sometimes I wish Kenshin Himura is all that you are, and ever will be…_**

****

Sometimes I wish I had never met you… Battousai… 

His head went up, acting on hidden impulses.  There was something out there…He felt it for a second, but it was gone as quickly as it came…a ribbon of energy lacing the air like waves rippling out of a center…

"Kaoru…"  

His voice was urgent, the honorific forgotten as his heart prodded him with unspoken warnings…

Her name uttered thickly, broke into her thoughts harshly.   "Nani Kenshin???"

"I think we really should—"

His words came too slow, and the gunshots too soon.

His body could only be so quick, but the impulse was hampered by pain throbbing against flesh.

Against his breast he felt her sink bonelessly, her head falling on the cake of blood that drenched and stained his body with a stench that was all too frighteningly familiar.

"Kaoru?" gentle hands took her into the darkness, enveloping her in darkness as he let his instincts take over, sweeping her small body away from the line of fire, away from the sound of death and its shadows.    

There was no answer.

"Kaoru!"

He had felt the danger, but he could not have known the precise aim of those bullets, the target of that split second attack so thinly disguised under the veil of darkness that betrayed a tracker's scent…

Trackers…

Saitou had told him, but he wasn't paying attention.  No wonder he felt them, his guts acting on natural compulsions which trackers could not have effectively countered, bent as they are on tracing ONLY the pre-cog's mind, which they had been equipped to intercept and confuse with deliberate precision.          

No wonder she didn't sense their presence…

But the bullets were an entirely different matter…

Controlled by machines, their presence would have been easy to foresee…

Wasn't foresight one of her strongest abilities, as Katsura had told him?

He struggled to keep his voice from trembling, fingertips reaching out to touch her face and wipe away the blood.

**Kaoru…**

There's just so much blood…so much of it on her face, now mixed with his own as he held her close, feeling her warmth leaving his.

Foresight…

It must have been the only logical explanation how she took them all…

All seven of them…

Seven bullets entered her body, seven wounds bled on his breast, as she fell into his arms.

"Kaoru!!!!" 

He watched the blue fade into gray…like the color of death approaching the twilight of eternal darkness… 

. . . . . . . . . .    

"Look Soujiro," Megumi began, her lips puckering slightly to emphasize her point.  "This Labyrinth's illegal, as far as I'm concerned.  Dragging me into it is like putting a loaded gun into my hand so I can just go and shoot myself.  My bosses will NOT tolerate this kind of crap, and you of all people Sanosuke Sagara, know WHAT the JIB can do when they find out!!!"

Sano rubbed his cheek a little tiredly, looking at her through narrowed sleepy eyes.  "Yeah well, so what???  You wouldn't even cry for me at my funeral would you, Takani???  Besides, I'm not gonna die until we're married and have at least ten kids…"

She turned away, hiding the blush as Soujiro laughed into her face.  "You're full of stupid bullshit, you know that Sanosuke?  I came to you for help and you give me a lot of crap about this organization and what you've been trying to do to save the world.  Well, let me tell you, you stupid moron that I'm sick and tired of saving the world!!!  I've been doing that as a doctor, and might as well be asked to do that as a JIB investigator!!!  All these principles you've both been yammering about are nothing but crappy ideologies that sustain the same economics and politics that got us where we are—selfish, self-centered assholes pretending to be modern day heroes.  Hell, you might as well wear a costume and practice martial arts so you can live out your comic book fantasies and leave the real world alone!!!"

Sanosuke got up from his chair and walked up to her, his face cold, expressionless, almost livid.  "Will you say that again Megumi?"

He didn't use her last name this time.

She stood up on her full height, but he was still a head taller than she is.  "I said, Mr. Sanosuke Sagara—"

Whatever it was she was about to say was lost in the deafening silence that followed.

He was kissing her.

Right there, in front of Soujiro, he bent down and brought his lips savagely to hers, dipping her head as he forcefully pushed her lips open to let his tongue in.         

She pushed against his chest, trying to struggle out of his grasp, but Sanosuke was just too strong for her, his evenly muscled body and tall, lean frame, enough to keep her body where he wanted it—trapped in the crook of his arm and between his thighs.

Soujiro gave a low whistle, grinning as he pulled down a lever. 

The lights went out and darkness pulsed around them, like two hearts beating.

. . . . . . . . . . 

Makimachi Misao sat in front of the window, eyes in deep thought—so deep in thought that she didn't notice the figure that flopped next to her by the window, her expressionless gaze penetrating the glass to settle on the starless, moonlit sky.

"So…are we still thinking about the dork Murasaki?"

That was her code.  Misao squinted, throwing a pillow at the intruder who dodged it barely, catching the pillow as she laughed.  "Just WHO are you calling dork, Akai?"

The tall woman faced her, cold emerald eyes lighting up.  "I think his name is Shinomori, isn't it?"

Misao snorted, giving the slender, willow-like figure beside her a dark glare.  Thinking about it now, she couldn't help but realize how they seemed so different to be even friends.  First of all, the woman was a classic beauty with a touch of quiet mystique about her which was a far cry from her sunny, adolescent–like disposition and tomboyish looks.  Not only that.  The woman had bearing, her height of 5 feet and 9 inches contrasting sharply to her barely 5 feet and two.  But it is really in style that she, Misao, would have to admit total, absolute defeat.   For Akai carried herself with model-like grace, her uniform consisting of thigh-length black boots, with thick straps for hiding bullets and darts, and a skin-tight, body-hugging ankle length red dress with two long slits reaching further into her upper thighs, to show off the tight-fitting boots and the white skin that made it so sexually alluring.  Even her arm guards seemed less intimidating, clear strips of white veil-like material hanging from her shoulders down to her elbows and looped around her arms like a scarf, to accentuate rather than emphasize their presence.  

Altogether she was the most elegantly—yet practically—dressed spy Misao had ever met.  She smiled wryly at that realization, wrinkling her nose at her own worn-out and over-used uniform consisting of the barest necessities—a black vest over a purple arm-fitting, knee-length dress with a wide, obi-looking white belt where she kept her own bullets and darts, and knee-length purple boots to match.  Not that the dressing was purely arbitrary or a matter of taste.  There was, after all, little sense tolerating such codes and pseudo-names as "Akai" or "Red" for Shougo Sayo, and "Murasaki" or "Purple" for herself, if the stupid uniform had nothing to do with it.

Not that Shougo Sayo's name should even be known to her.  As far as real names go, identities can be dangerous when one has a little too many secrets to keep.   

And Misao had her share of those, for reasons known only to her.

And perhaps, to the ex-assassin that now goes by the name of Kenshin Himura…     

"So it IS the dork, as I've suspected it is, Murasaki-san" she laughed, hitting Misao on the head with an even bigger pillow. 

Misao rubbed her head, yanking the pillow from Sayo's grasp before she can hit her for the second time. "Yare, yare, I can forgive THAT but make fun of Shinomori again and I swear Akai-san, I'd set you up with Okita if it's the last thing I'd do!!!"

She laughed at that, more amused than angry.  "Okita-san is actually quite cute if you want my honest opinion Murasaki-san…and he smiles too, not like some _block of ice_ I've met…"

Misao snorted in disgust.  "Yeah right, Akai-san.  For all we know, he smiles even when he's in the toilet doing you-know-what.  That kid is just disgusting.  I mean, not even I could be happy ALL the time."

"Is that right?  So you've just admitted now that Shinomori's indeed a dorky block of ice?"

"Hey, I'm admitting nothing, Akai-san, and you know it!!!"

The woman laughed at her infuriated red face.  "Honto ni…demo…seriously Murasaki-san…what are you planning if you DO meet Shinomori face to face?  He's been in Shishio's list for the longest time…and with his trial taking its turn for the worse, we don't know how long this organization's gonna last…"

"Hai…demo…there's Hoji still…he's loyal if ever there is one…and Anji's sane…He can keep the organization from collapsing or being run over by Yukishiro's goons and syndicates if there's anything he can really do so well…"

"I agree…but still…"

Misao saw Sayo's face cloud over, her eyes reverting back to its opaque shade of dark green.  "Look, don't worry…we'll get your brother back, believe me…The sooner Shishio's in jail the better for all of us if we can find your brother before the whole system leaks out to the police…But since Shishio still has a few tricks up his sleeve, I'm sure we're gonna be okay.  I can't believe I'm actually wishing he'd be able to save his ass, but if he EVER does, well…it's up to us to take it from there…"

Sayo smiled.  "Amakusa's drug deals will get him killed I know it…Demo…I know there's a way to clear his name…some piece of evidence that might tell us where he is, who Shishio's contacts are outside the country, and why my brother had just disappeared last year when Shishio asked him to meet his contacts in China…"

"I know.  Now that you mention China though…would you know if your brother EVER planned to work for Yukishiro?  I mean, uhhh, sort of as a double agent?"

Sayo shook her head.  "I don't think he'd take THAT risk…no…but that might just be a possibility as what you seem to be implying Murasaki-san…"

Misao's eyes glimmered with new hope as she slammed one fist on the palm of the other hand.  "Yeah, and that'll give me an even BIGGER excuse for making Yukishiro's ass so damn sorry for ever messing up with us!!!"

Her companion smiled, eyes softening.  "I hope so, Murasaki-san…I just really hope so…"

. . . . . . . . . . . 

**Atonement…**

Her mind screamed.  It was the last thing she had heard when the bullets came, piercing her mind with a soundless scream only her hidden senses could have detected so quickly.

And with a precision that was short of a miracle.

But there was no miracle in death.  Only the promise of sleep.

Endless sleep.  Wasn't that what she wanted?

For pre-cogs, sleep was a luxury, nightmares, a waking reality that goes on endlessly, like advertisements on T.V. 

Darkness and light.  They are all the same to pro-cogs who had never been acquainted with the difference.

After all, what is the difference to those who had never seen with their eyes?

People often say stupid things like mind controls matter, or if there's a will there's a way.

**Stupid things.**

How can the mind argue with death?  How can one's will find a way around it?  

**Death is absolute.  It would have to be, or we'll all end up immortals.**

Immortals. 

**_I'm not an immortal.  _**

****

**_If life means living another person's hell, I'd rather have the real thing._**

****

**_Maybe this is one Fate I will never have to be able to control._**

****

**_I'm so tired of it._**

****

**Control.  Fate.  Destiny.**

****

**_Death is so much more comforting…_**

****

**_It makes no demands._**

****

**_It asks nothing of me._**

****

**_Only to lie here…._**

****

**_Such warmth…_**

****

**_In this soft warmth, I can die in peace…                           _**

**Just--just let me stay here…just let me stay here for a little while…**

****

**_I can stay here in the warmth for just a little longer…_**

****

**_Then I will let go, I promise to let go…_**

**. . . . . . . . . . . **

**Kaoru!!!  Stop it, stop it, you hear me???**

There was no answer, no voice in his mind to whisper back, only the wind breaking his speed as he crouched in the darkness, her limp form on his breast, cradled against his arm under the coat.

So much blood… 

He didn't know why, or how, but her voice struggled through the inner senses of his mind, begging to let her stay in the warmth…

He had to think about that.  The wind was actually cold, almost freezing, yet she spoke of a warmth she couldn't leave just yet.

He embraced her even tighter, desperately seeking comfort in her limp presence.

The invisible yet soothing presence that he had always known to be there in those nights when there was nothing but shadows to keep him company…        

He looked at her eyes, at her forehead, then at the pale shoulders showing through the coat, which barely covered her. 

**_Just so much blood…_**

****

**_So much blood…_**

****

If there are gods out there… 

****

He stopped, staring at her face for two seconds.

She would have to move.  To breath.  Even just one sign…

He closed his eyes, focusing his ki, his senses on this one goal:

To reach her mind.

Maybe then, there is still hope. 

**Kaoru!!!**

He remembered vividly, how, he too, thought of allowing himself to die.  But one thing always nagged him to go on… Something in his mind had always whispered to him those strange words that kept his sanity in moments like this when the invitation to darkness and death seemed too much of a temptation to resist.

And that is _faith_.

Faith in things that are yet to come…things that make suffering seem nothing more than a temporary, yet necessary process towards completion and resolve.

And eventually, atonement.

If he had one single reason—if there was one, single logic that will defy all the madness of his previous life, and the madness of living this life, it would have to be that.

Atonement as the completion of his life.

And Kamiya's life should lead the way…

****

**Because you and I knew what the darkness felt…**

****

And if there is just one more room for absolution… 

****

**_You will be there to see me through, as you've always done…_**

He touched her face, this time with fingers that dripped his blood and hers.

**_You and I are the same…_**

****

**_Which is why you and I must live through this._**

****

**_Because there are still so many things that we needed to know._**

****

**Many things to atone for…**

****

**_To live for…_**

****

**_At least I have known what it is to love…_**

****

**_And to be loved, no matter how fragile and uncertain that seems to be…_**

****

**_But you haven't had anyone…_**

****

**_Or at least that's my presumption._**

****

**_So young and already, so much pain._**

****

**_So much blood.  
  
_**

**_So much madness in one single night._**

****

**_It will not end in this._**

****

**_If there is one justice I will seek, it will be for ones like you…_**

****

**_I deserve my pain. _**

****

**_But you don't deserve this.  Whatever you did can be forgiven because you are innocent._**

****

**_I'm hardly that._**

****

**_But I wouldn't stand for this._**

****

**_You will not die in the arms of a stranger like myself._**

****

**_I won't let you._**

****

**_Because that will be too cruel…_**

**. . . . . . . . .  .**

Katsura folded his hands on his lap as he listened through the muffled noise of the darkness outside his window.       

Minutes ago he had received a message that forced cold sweat to break out of his skin in trickles.

The news was unexpected.

Kamiya had been brutally shot.

Kenshin Himura had escaped.

The mission is over.

Only this time, the odds are on his side.

With the death of Kamiya, the link in the chain had been broken:  No witnesses.  No evidence.  No crime.          

**_But in Himura's case, the sword and the sheath work both ways…Kamiya would have made a difference if she had been given a chance…And Himura might have yet been saved…_**

He thought about the old days, when politics made sense, when history was not just role-playing.   He thought about sane politicians who thought about policies that work, and insane politics that applied them and made them impossible.

****

**_With Himura gone, there will be no one to tie the loose ends…_**

****

**_With Kamiya gone, there will be no one to keep those loose ends from anyone else's hands…_**

****

**_I should have done better._**

****

**_But regrets are too much for one lifetime spent in making mistakes…_**

In the darkness, he could only dream what could have been, and mourn it over many times.

Sleepless nights are endless.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

**Author's Comments:**  Soooo sorry about the late update.  Anyway, here are my comments to your reviews.  Again, domo arigatou for all the support!!!  ^_^

Names not in any order  (I must mean, random, heck!!! ^_^)

**kyanos:**  No, you didn't post 2 reviews though I would've gladly read both anyway!!  By the way, hope this chappie had enough tensions, and switches.  I love you commenting on these details that I tend to ignore.  About Tomoe… pushing her off a cliff means I gotta find one real quick…demo…I won't do that I guess.  A hot date with Akira may be interesting though.  But then again…that's been done so many times before…Maybe I'd think of something more intriguing…but anyway, please send me a review 4 this chappie to let me know your views on the subject.  It's wonderful to know you're interested, so thanks again!!!  ^_^  You've always been there—at least more often than the others…so until next time!!! 

**bittersweetKandy:**  I'll update this one very soon, I hope.  I'm writing four fics in a row (stupid imagination, won't let me be, that's why) so it took me quite some time to update this one.  Please do read the other ones and give me your thoughts.  Thanks!!!  ^_^  

**Moonwind:**  Love your comments, you make me want to write ten chapters straight!!!  Anyway, I promise to update sooner okay?  Thanks again!!!!

**siLvEr_iris:**  I know you wanted a little more "warming" bet. K&K but I knocked her dead!!!  Gods!!!  She can't be dead!!!  (Author swoons).  Don't worry.  Please read more to find out and thanks for reviewing this one!!!   ^_^ 

**Akai Kitsune**:  Yeah I know I didn't treat Tomoe quite well here…I mean, you know, Saitou's words so I thought you might excuse the foul language… (Author kicks Saiotu's butt) I'll be kinder I promise, and make Saitou pay (he he he!!!  Author lets Saitou take the blame…wicked author!!!)

**Jason M. Lee:**  Thanks.  For some strange reason, I tremble to read your review…Must be your aura or something.  I love your comments so it must be your aura…powerful…Do you mind if I ask what's your horoscope?  (Author is hit by a flying tomato)  Okay, got the message.  Thanks again.  I'm glad you thought the last chapter was good though…^_^

**NightRain: ** Thanks for the compliment!!!  I hope this chappie helped clear a lot of other stuff…I promise more intrigue next time…wish the clearing up won't lessen the suspense though because that happens sometimes…Heck, I'll manage so please read and review some more!!!  Thanks!!!^_^

**Chiruken:**  Fantastic?  Glad you found it to be so…I do want more suspense in my fics…To be honest though, I think Linay handles it so much better…I wish I have her talent, really.  But I love your comments, so please keep sending them in.  You make my life a little lighter, honest !!!  ^_^

**Sandy:**  Hotaru-sama???  Geez, that's really BIG of you, and I'd be a hypocrite if I say that it doesn't flatter one bit…Thanks for all the support.  You've always been such a good friend so I won't ask a lot from you, just maybe to keep in touch once in a while!!!  I do love your comments and errr…did you get my e-mail?  Are you writing your own fic??  Please try.  I'd love to help and thanks a lot really !!! I dedicate this fic to you and your friends (whether they like it or not, he he he) ^_^ so enjoy!!!!  Hope to hear from you soon too!!!

**JML:**  You asked how this will turn into a K&K…Hmm…Actually, I kept asking myself the same question (Boulder rolls down a cliff and hits author like a duck pin…)  Just kidding!!!!  Anyway, the intrigue's not yet over but I'm glad you asked the question.  Maybe that's what all the intrigue is all about.  K&K would have to wait and be tortured some more.  Then Tomoe will come and kill them both.  Hah!! Got you… (This time, author is kicked into the gutter and rolls out of view.  Owari.)      

**Yuki:**  Yes, I love S/M too!!!  Thanks!!! More interaction in the next chappie—if I can manage it…Sorry if not a lot in here…ohhh but the kiss…Maybe something more will happen in the future.  Watch out for it!!!  

**Koneko-chan:**  Thanks, and I love Misao too…She's bright, bubbly, and smart (like powerpuff??? No, even better!!!!) About the names…sorry for that…I do lose track of the pattern, so I promise to stick to the FIRST name first, and LAST name last starting with the NEXT chappie.  But I'd have to stick with the 'dono' stuff… I will explain later why Tomoe used it too…Anyway, I really appreciate the reminder so please keep reading!!!  I'd try to follow your suggested revisions as closely as I can so don't hesitate to send in your suggestions!!!  You guys make my day—errr night!!! ^_^

   


	9. Dance of Demons

Depend On You 

By Hotaru 

**Disclaimer:**  This writer owns nothing even close to RRK.  Only the claim to Battousai's dance of madness after endless sleepless nights and nightmares.  (Yare, yare, for someone who's had that since he/she was 5, there's no reason to complain.  Me just get doctor.  Gomen  ^_^)

**Warning:**  Angst, a little dark here.  For S/M fans out there, you might find very little interaction here.  

**REVISION ALERT!!!:  **The prologue, plus chapters 1-6 have been revised.  A few major details in chaps. 1-5 were changed (e.g. Enishi's a protege of Dr. Takeda Kanryu—he didn't get his expertise from his father as previously mentioned.)  Anyway, if you want to re-read, do so.  Reviews are welcome.  Also, I'm planning to turn this fic into an e-book/publication (heck, even with just me reading it), to be posted in my website soon.  So expect a lot more revisions and of course, the story's bound to have more twists —sorry, can't help it.  But please enjoy this.  Thanks for the reviews but most of all, thanks for reading this!!!  ^_^     

By the way, the comments on the reviews for the previous chapter will be found at the end of this one.  Now, sit back and get something to eat.  This might be long.

Chapter 8:    Dance of Demons 

**Your eyes cut deeply**

**Like blades**

**Your blood runs cold**

**Like rain**

**Your hands hold me**

**Like spaces through sand**

**I slip and slide and vanish**

**Lost in the dance of demons **

**They break me senseless**

**Into shards**

**That will never be whole again.   **

Gray.

Black.

Gray.

Black.

Moonlight tore through shadows as blood and rain colored his eyes, dripping through, and blurring into different shades of darkness.

They were the color of death.

He stopped.  Amber eyes looked up, narrowed, calculating, tense.

But focused.

The Institute of Pre-cog Development and Technology…

Dr. Genzai…

There were doubts.

He looked at the crumpled mass on his arms.

Eyes closed, breathless, colorless as rain soaking his hair, _her_ skin…

He unsheathed his katana with one free hand and measured the thick glass doors with his eyes.  In the next second, the glass broke in a million pieces, falling like a curtain of water, smooth and precise.

He had always been precise.

Kicking the metal doorframes to shake the rest of the glass splinters out, he stepped inside, bundle carried through another darkness.

Of course there's the alarm to take care of…Not that it would even get in his way…

Then the stairs.  He never trusted elevators.  And he can still run.

But something first must be done about those stairs…

And that includes disabling all the guards as well…

Not that he had to feel guilty about it.  The "sentinels" are nothing more than androids stationed at specific security posts in the facility.  All it takes is a scrambler, a code with which to confuse their sensors, and he could walk past them without worry.  In fact the procedure was nothing unfamiliar—after all, it wasn't the first time he would be infiltrating a government facility.

And certainly not the first time he would be breaking all the rules in the book…       

Machines.  Unlike humans, they hide no secrets that cannot be decoded.

So systematic…so logical…so predictable really…

And foolish… 

Practice makes it even easier to outwit them all…

He felt something wet trickle down his side.

Blood.

Dammit, I don't even have time for this.  Just have to do it the old-fashioned way I suppose…

He slashed the first guard that came his way, wires spilling out of the sentinel's skull.  A silent humming followed, then static.

The android fell in a loud clutter, but without sending a final warning signal to the rest of its companions.

Shit…and I thought I was retiring…         

Arm throbbing, he laid the body slumped against him on the floor gently, before facing another armed sentinel pointing a gun at him.

No, not near enough…not good enough… The blast died as soon as it came, his sword slashing through shoulders, torsos, and heads, turning the small army into stockpiles of metal carcass.       

_Twenty seconds…_First flight, second flight, a third, and fourth…

He cleared the guards in the area in thirty seconds flat. 

Must be getting slow for this… 

He returned to the first floor and with aching slowness picked off the floor what he had left there--a heap wrapped in a black mantle—and cradled it in the other arm as the other dangled the long sword that still trickled blood.

His own blood this time.  The fight had more than mangled his arm, now bleeding from two bullets he had carelessly allowed to get to him in the course of escaping Enishi, then Saitou.

Two enemies in one night…

One girl whose life now depended on him…

One more battle…one more duel to face in the darkness…

But it could wait.  It better wait.  As it is, he was running out of time…

He began dragging the metal bodies into their respective positions on the landing where he needed them.

Of course, they make poor obstacles.  But all he needed was a sign, a warning, just in case somebody stupid enough gives chase, using the same route…

He sighed, heaving the bodies up one by one with his one free arm, sword now held between clenched teeth.  The sentinels have their use after all…  

That done, he brought the sword down, flexing his fingers as they clasped the familiar length of the handle.  Two more flights…  Nothing.  

Another staircase.  Seventh floor_.  _

Apprehensive eyes looked up, purple depths meeting glass.  _Laboratory Systems Analysis_ it said.

_This must be it._

He nudged the door open with the point of his sword.  

It was unlocked.  Now that could mean one of two things…  

Damn security personnel… 

He looked around sensing things in the dark.  He could feel some movement somewhere close, lurking tentatively in the shadows, the absence of the hum confirming a human presence…       

"I knew you'll be coming, Battousai…"

THAT made him stop, wet fingers coiling around the hilt of the sword even tighter. 

The figure couldn't be too far.  Ten?  Twenty meters from him at the most?   

"Stay where you are," he told the invisible presence, eyes scouring the darkness as fingers flexed around the sword handle, ignoring the pain of the movement. 

Nothing.

Gods, I have no time for this… 

"Listen goddamit…" he stepped forward, rain dripping from the edges of his coat, sword hissing as he moved it deftly with the same arm that must have seen better days "…one false move and I won't hesitate to attack..."

"So you would dare attack an unarmed man, is that it?"

The voice was unfamiliar.  Not that it mattered.

Outside, lightning traced slivers of blue and yellow against the night sky, illuminating dead shadows on walls.      

But there was nothing to fear in that.  After all, for an ex-assassin such as himself who had been acquainted with darkness and shadows for the longest time, dead people walking are better companions than live enemies armed to the teeth.

A streak of light flashed through the glass windows, revealing a tall, lean figure in a long white coat standing by the curtains.    

The fucking lowlife is not even good at hiding… 

Without warning, Kenshin grabbed the figure by the front of his white overcoat and pushed him back, ramming his head against the glass panels that covered an entire wall of the laboratory.  The young man, though taller and as evenly muscled as the ex-assassin could do nothing but stumble backwards, clenched knuckles pinning him helplessly to the frosted glass.  

"You think this answer satisfies?" 

The figure winced, feeling the solid hardness of a sword hilt bruising his chin, cold eyes glaring at him through mere pinpoints of light.   

"Get your hands off me, you fucking sonafabitch!!!"

Kenshin glared at him, pushing him harder to the wall.  From beneath the mantle, he felt something wet and thick crawl down his skin, making him flinch.

The Kamiya girl is bleeding to death and the man is getting in his way…        

Purple eyes flickered.  "Tell me who you are and where Dr. Genzai is, or you'd be speaking through your ass the next time..."  

The figure shot him an ice-cold look, silvery blue eyes receding into their hollowed depths.  

"My name's Toshima.  Noburo Toshima.  I'm Dr. Genzai's assistant."  

"That so? Well, Toshima, perhaps you can tell me where Dr. Genzai is…before I get desperate…"

"Fuck the hell.  You think I'll tell you anything, you bloody fucking bastard???!!!"

_Bastard  am I?_

In the next second, Toshima was down on the floor, curled in a tight ball, the force of the punch wrenching his insides like muscles being pulled in different directions.

"Get up.  I don't have time for arguments but if you won't tell me where Dr. Genzai, I'd let my sword do the talking."

Toshima stared at the ex-assassin, wiping the blood on his lips as the ex-assassin stood there, sword in hand, the blade catching flickers of metallic blue from the window, illuminating its deadly length, which, in the darkness, shimmered like the eyes of a killer.   

But the weapon was only half the mystery.  Battousai stood in the shadows before him, streaks of light slivering through glass to cast pale reflections on his face that betrayed no vulnerability, save the scar that seemed to be the only reminder that the man was of flesh and blood, and had, in fact, at least one weakness that made the wound possible to inflict.

He can still be wounded…  

He must have his limitations…

"Don't force me to take necessary measures to make you wanna talk, doctor.  Because I promise you it's not gonna be pleasant."     

"Are you threatening me, Battousai?  For an assassin, you don't seem all that intimidating…" 

He regretted it the moment the words came out.

With a broad sweep of his arm, Kenshin brought the sword down against glass, the force and impact so sudden that the window seemed to implode, pieces falling to the floor in one sudden movement, its pieces scattering in different places.     

Then the wind blew, sending the curtains flying all around him, billowing and arching like wings.

From his position, Toshima could only watch and stare, almost awed … 

Black against white.  An angel of death…     

Not that he tolerated superstitions…

But the slivers of lights darting through rain couldn't have helped make the ex-assassin's visage less frightening even if it were flawlessly beautiful:  Long streaks of red hair matted by something that seemed to have caked there like clay, rain dripping through it, oozing the color of blood in frightening trickles between yellow, piercing eyes… clothes in a clammy mess, torn into scanty shreds by the shoulder, hiding deep wounds that might explain the thick wetness that soaked it to the skin…boots wet and caked with mud…blood splattered thickly on black leather as well as on the mantle covering his torso and chest…  

But when the dark angel moved his arm slightly to sheath the long Japanese sword, he saw the movement constricted by pain, more blood trailing down the fingertips that held the hilt tentatively, staining the blade that glinted dangerously in the semi-darkness.  

Then trickles.  He heard the tiny sound and felt it, dripping down the length of the ex-assassin's blade, pooling on the floor beneath.  And it didn't come from the sword alone.  In fact, it wasn't from the sword at all…

It was coming from something that lay beneath the black mantle draped on the ex-assassin's chest, covering his torso and reaching down his knees, frayed edges waving against the wind. 

It was undeniable.  The heavy mass bulged considerably to confirm what his initial impulses could only haphazardly guess…  

_The girl…_

It can't be… 

Then it came to him…snatches of conversation overheard that afternoon…

_The doctor will be taken into custody—for the time being at least…_

_Classified operation.__  The trackers will be deployed, fully armed …_

Battousai will be arrested this time--if he's lucky not to get killed…

_It might be difficult.  He might use her as bait…_

_But the instructions were clear…Kaoru Kamiya must be recovered intact.      _

Kaoru Kamiya…

_It can't be…_

He hadn't forgotten her… 

They met two years ago, when the JIB sent her to Dr. Genzai's laboratory for a series of physical, psychological, and psychometric examinations.  In their first meeting, she had already made a distinct impression on him—her childish warmth blending with the sweet sadness that almost always accompanied her smiles, even her laughter, seemed to betray a mystery which to him was both charming and disturbing … And her eyes…those sapphire eyes seem to see into your soul, its peculiar color receding into its darkest depths when she was sad, worried, or in pain, and surfacing when she was happy.  Just watching her emotions rise and fall with her smile and her eyes was enough to keep him interested in fact… not that he could have done something to arouse as much interest on her part.  As doctor and patient, their interaction had always been limited to clinically precise questions and answers—nothing even remotely personal, unless symptomatic of some emotional or psychological disturbance.  Despite it all, he saw—no, "sensed" rather—that the girl's health was suffering due to extreme psychological and emotional traumas that border on torture, not unfamiliar to the rest of the human race.

Loneliness… 

Whatever was the source of that, however, baffled as much as intrigued him.            

Because the girl had always tried to be cheerful—something quite incomprehensible to him, really, given that he hadn't really met anyone who can afford as much optimism.  Of course, he wouldn't deny that the fascination had also to do with his particular interest as a doctor and scientist…After all, the girl had the most unique mind among all the pre-cogs he had researched, analyzed, and even trained.  In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that no one even comes close to her abilities…not in the whole world as far as medical research goes.  

But of course, rumors have it that there is yet another one…

Only, that has never been confirmed.

The point is, though, Kaoru Kamiya deserves better treatment.

And the mere possibility that Battousai still has her…that he could expose her with such careless abandon by bringing her in a place where he could be watched, could be attacked at any time, only made things even more frustrating.    

His debts would be unforgivable…

Toshima edged closer, glaring at the stranger's possessive grip on the bundle beneath the mantle. 

"Kaoru Kamiya… Did you bring her here?  Is that the reason?"

Kenshin's eyes flared at the sound of her name in a stranger's lips.  

Kaoru Kamiya? The fact that she was known to the doctor unnerved him for some reason. Is this another of Saitou's trap??? 

But Toshima had no intention of leaving him to his thoughts… 

"You bloody bastard!!!  If you've even as much as touch Kaoru--"

"Touch her???"  Kenshin asked, eyebrow raised, amber eyes shooting daggers.  And who the hell does he think he is, asking stupid questions like that? The fucking boyfriend? Like I care about the stupid jealous sonafabitch … 

In the next instant, Toshima was lunging at him, silver blue eyes meeting amber…  

But Kenshin was faster, more agile, bringing the heavy weight of the katana up and at the level of his chest and pointing it straight at the doctor.  

The doctor kept on charging.

Shit!!! 

His arm was numbing in several places, making the movement slower, less precise, but he tried just the same.  All things considered, he wouldn't want the doctor to die.  

But that doesn't mean he could let him intrude into his personal space…

Which, by the way, included Kaoru Kamiya… 

With achingly painful speed, he swung his body at an angle against the doctor, forcing the hilt to move between wet fingertips at the crucial moment, quickening as his body uncoiled in position.  In seconds, the razor-sharp side of the sword grazed the doctor's throat, trickles of sweat falling on the long, flawless sheen of the blade.   

The doctor was speechless, eyes dilated as he felt the ex-assassin's breath against his ear, and sensed the cold, hard look staring at his nape.

"Look, Toshima…" Kenshin hissed, eyes matching the glint of the long sword.  "I don't give a fuckin' shit about you and your problems, but if you won't tell me where Dr. Genzai is—"

"You expect me to know where he is???" Toshima laughed sarcastically, eyes meeting the swordsman's death glare.  "You're the one screwing the JBI, you're the one who hurt Kaoru, you're a demon and you can go to hell for all I care!!!! In fact, there's nothing more I want than to see you die and rot in hell, you bloody fucking bastard!!!"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed, taking in the abrupt display of emotion that only made him more edgy for some reason.

Not that what the doctor said was untrue.

But it wasn't entirely false, either.

After all, he _did_ hurt the girl, didn't he???  He let them hurt her…

Perhaps even kill her… 

Kenshin looked down for the first time and saw what the doctor must have seen.  

The dead whiteness of skin against black.

Black.  

Darkness.  

Death.

_No…_   

Not now.  His personal fears can wait…

He lowered his sword, eyes hovering thoughtfully, suspiciously, mind contemplating the odds.  

He didn't have much time.

The doctor stood immobile, eyes widened in fear and frustration as he felt the sword waver, then drop, heels echoing on cold, marble floors as the ex-assassin finally released him, stepping away to keep his distance. 

Their eyes met.

But there was no amber.  Only purple depths that betrayed…

Concern?  

Toshima raised an eyebrow, perplexed.   

Kenshin must have noticed his discomfort, and looked away.  "Look, doctor.  If you care about Miss Kaoru that much you better find a way to help her NOW because I'm not sure if she can hold out much longer…"

Even in the darkness, he could see the silvery blue eyes staring at him, weighing his words. 

For some reason, he found THAT look uncomfortable, if not unnerving.

"Look.  It's not like I even trust you, doctor—because I don't."  

"Trust?" a grunt.  "And what is it to you if Kaoru Kamiya lives???  You kidnapped her because you wanted to use her as bait, didn't you???"

Bait??? 

"But of course, why wouldn't you???  You're an assassin aren't you??  Why would her life mean anything to some goddamned, god-fucking killer like you???"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow, eyes back into slits of yellow.  "If you're through with your questions, I suggest you go to work as soon as possible, doctor…cause if something _does_ happen to this girl, make sure I'd dig your grave in hell!!!"   

"I bet you'd give me yours, Battousai.  If nobody puts you in it sooner…"

"Like the hell I care."

"For an assassin, hell must be a familiar place."

Kenshin's eyes flared, but decided to keep to his thoughts as the doctor approached to check the patient.  

Toshima stopped.  He expected damage, but even THAT was not enough to prepare him for what he saw…  

The body was slumped bonelessly on rain-soaked shoulders, blood spilling everywhere—from the veins crawling out like threads from punctured flesh, to seared openings indicating the paths of the bullets which exploded and forced their way through muscle and tendon.  Of course there were also some other deep injuries like torn skin exposing charred surfaces and deep burns, multiple cuts and bruises on bared chest, shoulders, neck, arms, even hands…    

Toshima could only gape in horror.

There was just so much blood…

And he couldn't even think.

She looked so calm… 

He sighed finally, moving a fingertip to wipe away a trace of blood that darted across the young girl's face, towards closed lids that had turned ashen gray against the frightening paleness of skin that stretched over her childish features.  

But his hand was stopped mid-way, a firm grasp holding it away.  

Kenshin's gaze was unreadable.  "I think that's unnecessary…"

"And you think your concern isn't?" the doctor lashed at him, pulling his hand away, eyes glinting. "With the extent of the damage, do you think anyone can save her now?  Even if I cared, I doubt that I can…"

He had to stop.  Before him, the ex-assassin's eyes burned amber, his sword coming for his throat in seconds, tracing a thin line of blood where blade met skin.

On his arms the girl lay peacefully, body wrapped tightly in Battousai's cloak.

"Perhaps you haven't heard me, Toshima," the ex-assassin hissed, mincing words.  "She lives or you die.  And that's not a goddamn request you can refuse."

. . . . . . . . . . 

Megumi was certain she had heard something crash downstairs, something that distinctly sounded like glass breaking.   Since the intruder would have been intercepted by a guard, or by some kind of alarm that would have sounded once invisible barriers have been broken, she could only regard it with a passing curiosity, intent on finishing the job in her hands without unnecessary interruption.

Another crash.  

_Shit!!!  What the hell is going on down there???_

She withdrew a diskette from the computer console and began picking up files she had rummaged into, in the course of her research.

Gods, if they even find out I've been going through all this classified bullshit… 

Another crash.

Dammit!!!  That almost scares me…and of course, what perfect timing, just when I'm doing something that might REALLY mess things up when the JBI does find out…But if I live through this, I need to remind Tomoe she owes me a LOT…

_Gods, if I'd live long enough to even remember…_

She stacked the files in a filing cabinet, and grabbed her bag and briefcase as she sped towards the nearest exit.

But something blocked her path.

She stared through the semidarkness, watching the metal slide smoothly under her heels when she tapped it with her foot.  

_A sentinel…???_

_Or what he used to be…_

She paled several shades lighter than her already blood-drained face.

What the fuckin' hell is going on here? 

She pushed the bucket of bolts aside with a foot and proceeded down the steps.

Then a stench…She knew the smell so well…

It smelled of blood.

She looked up.

Yellow eyes glared back.

She dropped her briefcase, hands going to the railing as the face edged closer, steps echoing between them.

She turned and ran like hell.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

The smell of sunlight…

Flashes of yellow blinded her, making her flinch as she turned her eyes towards the clear horizon of blue stretching in the distance before her eyes.

She was on a field…It was green and had all the other colors she liked—violets, yellows, pinks, blues…

Reds…

Red.  Red hair.  Blood.

She closed her eyes, feeling the throbbing returning, making her head swirl.

Red.  Purple.  Amber.

No…please… 

Those eyes…

He looked at her with amber eyes…  So cold…yet so warm…

Almost warmer than this sunlight…

…Then black…

Darkness.

Black fingertips reached out… 

Someone reached out and touched her shoulder.

That warmth…the same warmth on her skin…

But now it was cold—cold as ice…

How can she be so cold under all this warm sunshine???

Things just don't make sense…

Finding a spot under a tree, she sat down, wondering why she felt so exhausted in the first place.  It was getting more difficult to breathe every passing second, it seems… 

She closed her eyes, and saw it in her mind's eye the way the image had been playing over and over in her mind…

Gloved hands touching her face, wiping the blood away…

Blood???  She must be confused.  She didn't feel a single pain…nothing…just…just this certain coldness that seemed so surreal…

Of course, the sensation must be new…After all, she had never been touched before…

Perhaps doctors did.  So many times in fact…

But THAT was different.  The touch wasn't there to protect her… 

But those hands… they pulled her close, kept her warm…

Those hands have no reason to protect her.  After what she had done…

After what she had made them do…

So much death.  So much blood.  

_Blood…._  

She can taste it even now.  Blood on her lips…her blood…_his_ blood.  They were together at that time…

_Demo…I was alone…It's always been like that…_

Then the bullets…They hit her in the darkness and she fell into arms that waited, arms cloaked in the shade of death…

_Death???_

She shook her head, trying to remember, trying to see through the haze that racked her brains, darts of pain making the effort ten times harder.__

_Whose hands, whose--  _

_The bullets…_

The sound in her ears was deafening, the crash unbearable as all the sensations returned to her in full force, filling her lungs with air that forced its way out through her throat … 

She screamed.

The blood…the warmth spilling out of her body…the openings that seared her very soul…

_Gods…_

What if…what if she wasn't able to stop them?  What if she was too slow?  What if…

He couldn't die.

But who?  Who almost died?

She grabbed her head, forcing herself to remember.

Blood red hair.  Eyes that could kill…eyes that have loved… 

He had a woman, didn't he?  

He had a woman…

He loved her…  

_Kenshin__…!!! _

Darkness…

Not like this sunlight… 

_This sunlight…_

_This sunlight…_

His world had always been dark.  Tiring.  The darkness, the despair, the endless nightmares that never saw the light…      

It was all _so_ tiring…

But now, there would be no more of that.  She can stay here in this endless sunlight…this perfect world where there will be no one to call to her, no one to hurt her, no one she could hurt…

_Just a dream…_

She grabbed her head, wanting the voice to stop.

_Just a dream…_

_But its what you've always wanted isn't it???_

_The endless dream where you will and can never wake up…_

Indeed…a dream of death…a passing over where there will be no turning back…

A strange pilgrim…an even stranger journey…

She had always wanted to get away…far away…

But now… 

But now she was all alone.

Again.

Her lips trembled.

I hate it here.

Above her, the sun shone through an infinite white and blue, the splendor almost blinding in radiance.  

But she winced, flinching away, shutting it out completely from her mind. 

Gods…

I hate it here…

She looked up, forcing her mind to reach out through the infinite barrier of space above her.

Through and above the infinite blue… 

Kenshin…

Amber eyes.  Blood.  Hate. Despair.  Darkness.

Kenshin…

Death…

Healing…

Forgetting…

Demo… 

I don't want to forget…

Kenshin…

Kaoru Kamiya closed her eyes, accepting the inevitable…   

For the first time in her life, she wanted to live…

Even without the light…

Even with just the endless, boundless space of dark and shadow that had always been there…

Waiting…just waiting… 

_Embrace the darkness Kaoru…and you will find what you're looking for…_

She reached out, opening her arms.

_What I'm looking for…_

She felt the cold, suddenly shivering at the sensation.

_In the darkness it will be always like this…_

_Cold…lonely…_

_It will hurt like hell…_

_Demo…_

_I'm ready._

_I will endure it._

_I will embrace the darkness._

_Because it's the only way I can help him._

_If Kenshin's life depends on it...___

_I will be there…_

_It will be my atonement… _

. . . . . . . . . . . 

Static.  Nothing but static.

Toshima pumped the valve, adjusting the settings to a higher current.

The machine hummed.  He re-connected the wires.  The blue liquid bubbled as electric impulses surged through the conduits securing the body in the tank.

He turned on the switch.

Static.

Nothing.

Then the sound of heels screeching on the floor, followed by muffled voices speaking.

Voices?

He turned around and the glass door opened.

"Megumi?"

A gloved hand let go of her mouth and she stumbled towards the doctor, eyes glaring at the man who had dragged her into the laboratory.

"You stay away from me you…you--"

Kenshin ignored her, walking past the woman and the doctor who was still holding her to him, trying to restrain her violent protests.

Something was suspended in a glass chamber filled with blue liquid at the center of the room.  Kenshin stared at it, then with a moment's hesitation, turned away, his face livid.

"Would you care to explain this, doctor???"

Toshima walked over to where the ex-assassin was, dropping the protesting Megumi to a chair on his way.

"Uhhh…which one?"

He noticed that the ex-assassin was actually flushing.  Or was it the experience of handling a difficult hostage like Megumi Takani?  Toshima knew that the lady doctor could be very difficult.  Even under normal circumstances…

"Miss Kaoru is undressed."

The ex-assassin sounded almost angry.

"Oh, THAT.  It's part of the procedure."

A grunt, eyes flashing dangerously.  "You mean there's a medical explanation to this?"

Toshima couldn't believe that the ex-assassin was complaining about something so trivial as THAT.

Perhaps, he had higher expectations…

"Does it disturb you all that much, Battousai?"

He flinched.  He didn't expect that line of questioning.  After all, the doctor was _his_ hostage.  Shouldn't he be answering _his_ questions rather than the other way around?

"No.  I just don't appreciate your methods."

"I see.  I thought my job was to revive her.  That doesn't include pleasing your sense of, shall I say, decency?  In fact, I didn't know assassins have it in their vocabulary…"

Kenshin gritted his teeth.  "Fine, doctor.  Should I presume then that you've revived her?"

"No."

"Which no is that?"

"No, she hasn't yet."

He angled towards the doctor, gripping his collar.  "And do you intend to join her in that tank, doctor?"

Toshima looked away, unable to withstand the yellow glare that pierced him like knives.  He cleared his throat, stepping back cautiously.  

"Look," he began, ignoring Battousai's calm protest, which consisted of fingers tapping on an arm drawn tightly against chest in frustration, "…the process isn't all that simple to begin with.  First we have to wait until some of her body signs have stabilized before we can give her another shock treatment..."

Kenshin drew out his arm, eyes flashing incredulously.  "Shock treatment?  Do you think a body like that can withstand electric shocks doctor???"

Toshima raised an eyebrow.  "So you've noticed?"

"What?"

"How small and fragile she really looked…"

Kenshin felt the meaningful gaze and looked away.  "As could be expected of anyone who had to carry her all the way here I suppose…Are we still on the subject?"

This time, it was Toshima who blushed, forcing Kenshin to look away for the nth time.

The girl was in danger and here they are, behaving like perfect idiots…

He sighed and reached deeply into the pocket of the cloak the doctor had returned to him minutes ago.  The cloak still smelled of blood, but he needed it more to keep the shoulder from trickling blood on the floor, rather than to protect the wound.  It was, still, after all, bleeding…    

He fingered the pocket.

Empty.

This time, eyes flared, feeling the familiar insides of the cloak again.

Still nothing.

"Something wrong?  You seem to have lost something…"

Kenshin sighed.  _Just something I'd have to deal with when I get back.  Not that Tomoe has to know I lost my own ring…_

"Just ignore me and go on."      

Toshima gave him a quizzical stare but decided to shift his attention back to the tank.  "As I was saying, the liquid's supposed to repair some of the damaged tissues, and keep her temperature within normal levels.  It also keeps her bloodstream going, providing some oxygen to the brain temporarily.  If her heart doesn't pump though, there's nothing more we can do… Unless you want to keep her in this tank forever…"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed dangerously at that, arm automatically reaching out to grab the doctor by the front of his coat.  "Is that a trick question?"

"No.  Just a reality check, Mr. Himura."

"Oh.  And you think you can use THAT name as well, doctor?"

"I just thought you hated the name Battousai…"

"What makes you think that?"

"You scowl whenever I say it."

"I don't scowl, doctor."

"Oh, in fact you just did."

"And I'm also under observation, is that it?   Why don't you work on saving Miss Kaoru instead of wasting all that attention on me?"

"My attention is mine to waste, Mr. Ex-Assassin." 

"Will you two quit arguing like lovebirds and settle down???"

It was Megumi standing feet apart, arms akimbo, her eyes dejectedly looking at the two figures getting into each other's nerves, one hanging by the collar in the grip of another.

"I don't really know what's going on but I'd appreciate it if you'd be so kind as to enlighten me on the subject."

Kenshin turned to her, eyes receding into their purple depths.  "If you want the truth, I don't think I can help you at all."

He released the grip on the man's collar and slumped on the nearest chair, flexing his arm.

Megumi hated being ignored.

She walked up to him, arms still akimbo, feet tapping on the floor.

"You should talk, you bastard!!!  I'm not going to be an ignorant hostage if I'm going to be one hostage at all…"

"You _are_ my hostage.  That's not an argument."

"I don't intend to argue.  In fact, I would be out of this room by now if you were some lard butt who can't even give a proper chase…"

"Arigatou, if that's a compliment, demo…I wouldn't have chased you if you didn't run away."

"It's not like I'm just gonna drop dead in your arms, Mr. Himu—"

Something in her mind clicked.  Wasn't that what Toshima called him?  Himura?  Battousai?

Could he be…???

Kenshin looked up, eyebrows raised.  Megumi Takani was staring at him, mouth half-open to say something.  Not that it was indecent.  He just wasn't comfortable having people regard him like that. 

He glared at her, faking anger---anything just to get her attention off him.  "What now, doctor?"

"You…you're Kenshin Himura aren't you?"

Another name...another question…

He looked away, eyes settling on the blue tank across him.  "I don't think I will answer that."

Megumi peered into his face, forcing him to lean back, avoiding contact.

"You ARE Kenshin Himura…"  

He sighed, meeting her gaze.  "And what is that to you, Miss Megumi Takani?"

"Oh, and have we met?  How did you know my name?"

Kenshin would have chuckled at the question if he were in the mood, but he wasn't so he looked away, avoiding her eyes.  "Your I.D.  You're still wearing it.  And I'm not exactly far-sighted."

She blushed.  The answer made her look quite…naïve.  She flipped her hair back, staring him down, waiting to see those terrible eyes look back tauntingly.  Despite his rugged appearance, she would have to admit that Kenshin—her cousin's fiancée—is quite an interesting specimen.

Actually, he's more than just interesting…he's quite perfect.

Perfect…it's not a gradable adjective to begin with…

_Maybe it's the scar…or the eyes…or that overbearing protectiveness about him that Tomoe might have to worry about…If she saw how concerned he was with that Kamiya girl…_

_But then again, he doesn't seem to be the skirt-chasing type.  More like the type who'd love you down to your bones and be loyal til-death-do-us-part that kind of bull…_

_And then again, maybe I'm just overworking my imagination… I mean, he's not even my type…_

_Just the same, I think he has to know about Tomoe…And why I intend to drag him out of this place for good once I've got the chance…_

_Like that's even possible…I mean, he doesn't even look like someone I could even invite for a cup of coffee…    _

 __

_Demo…a start's got to start somewhere…_

"Look, I don't know if you'd be happy to know this, but…"

Kenshin stood up all of a sudden, pushing past her, almost forcing her to lose her balance.

"Hey, don't be such a push-over you—you moron!!!"

But Kenshin ignored her, all eyes on the tank, staring at the girl who lay suspended in the thick fluids, attached to a mass of wires and electrodes.

He could have sworn he heard her voice.

She was calling out his name.

But there was no movement in the tank.

Nothing.

The machine read static.

But he could have sworn…

He touched the glass, fingers wanting to reach out to shake the girl out of her soundless sleep.

Then a flicker of red.

Two reds.  No three.  The machine was practically humming.

This time it was Toshima who panicked.

Kenshin didn't want to interfere but a single look at the doctor told him that things were getting pretty out of hand.

"Is there something here you're not telling me, or do we have to argue about this???"

The doctor pushed some buttons, looking alarmed, his face an unreadable mask of emotions as he bent down to adjust some wires.

"Her vital signs…We're losing her…"

Kenshin would have grabbed the doctor by the collar having found that a convenient way of getting his attention, when his shoulder throbbed violently, causing him to stumble back, falling on Megumi who had been watching from behind, eyes gaping at the sight before her.

"You're—you're bleeding!!!" she told him, catching him by the arm.  "Let me look at your arm…Gods, you're hurt that bad??!!"

Kenshin brushed her aside.  "It's nothing, Miss Takani."  He removed her hand gently, forcing himself to walk back towards the tank.  "Look doctor, you better start explaining right now what's happening to Miss Kaoru or I'll--"

The doctor met his glare with a look that sent a chill right through him.  "We've just lost her…  I guess there's nothing more—"

Amber eyes surfaced, but this time, they turned to the tank that stood just mere inches from him, revealing a figure suspended there with arms clasped on her chest, hair flying around her face, eyes closed as if in sleep.  

The sleep of death…

So serene, so peaceful at last. 

And there was no more blood.

Still…

He turned around to face the doctor…

He would have said something sooner—a threat perhaps, or a plea, he wasn't so sure—but his shoulder was throbbing even more persistently this time, forcing him to fall on the tank for support, hands reaching out to lean on the shiny glass surface.

Kenshin… 

It was unmistakable.  Her voice…

Kaoru??? 

Silence.

_Dammit__!!  Speak to me!!!_

Silence.

Kaoru!!! 

A sudden flare.  He felt it in his mind—the wave of energy pulsing like a faint heartbeat.  

He couldn't be mistaken…

His mind reached out into the darkness like a net, spreading, tentatively feeling the empty spaces, trying to catch anything…even a tiny flicker of that energy… 

_Kaoru???___

Something caught in it, tugging faintly, then stronger, as he felt a connection snap in place.

You're…you're alive???  Kenshin??? 

He was confused at the question, sorting out the logic behind it.  But her voice pushed him past all that, urging him to respond eagerly.

Hai… 

He felt a smile.

I was so worried, Kenshin… 

Worried?  The Kamiya girl was worried about him?  It didn't make any sense…

And yet…

_Demo…there's no reason to be worried…you're the one who had sustained some damage, therefore…_

A pause.

_…Therefore…???_

In his mind, she sounded just as confused.

Should he say it?  Something in his chest constricted, urging the words out…

What is it Kenshin…??? He measured those words in his head, wondering at the effort that made it all so difficult to keep inside… 

He had no reason to feel that way.  Or maybe he does.  She, after all, just saved his life.

And on top of that, she was too young to be taking on that kind of responsibility.

She was nothing but a child.     

And to think that his life depended on her.  A mere child…

So shouldn't he feel indebted at least?  

Wasn't that the reason why he was so concerned in the first place?

Of course.  That would have to be the reason.

_Kenshin_???__  Are you upset?__

Upset? Why should he be even upset?  

_Why do you ask?_

_You were so quiet…_

_Oh…_

_You were trying to say something actually…Then you just became so quiet…_

The observation was acute and precise, almost like what-- 

_Tomoe would have said—_

He bristled at that.  Tomoe?  It doesn't seem proper that he should be mentioning other women… Not that Tomoe was another woman…_Gods… Even in his mind, he didn't know what to think…_

How can that happen?  Him confused about himself being confused? Kenshin sighed.

_Stop thinking too much, Kenshin…_

He chuckled.  The girl was just full of advice…

_Demo… with you using your abilities like this, I don't think we can have a conversation any other way, do you???_

It was her turn to chuckle.  _Come to think of it…Are you worried about me Kenshin?      _

Worried like hell, and it's killing me...  

He blanched.  What did he say again?

She suppressed a blush, wondering if he "saw" that, or if, much worse, she was just imagining it on her own… 

Silence.

Kenshin??? Hnnn??? 

_It's alright._

_What do you mean?_

_It's alright.  You don't have to worry now…_

_Demo…_

_Promise you won't worry about me again…_

_Demo…_

_Just promise me, Kenshin…_

_Demo…_

_You're so stubborn, Kenshin, do you know that?_

_Hai__._

_So do you  promise?_

It sounded so childish.  But he had to concede one way or another…

_Hai__.__  Not that I should be the only one following orders around here…   _

_Orders?_

_Well, let's just say you have to follow some rules too, little girl…_

_Little girl!!!_

_Like not getting killed.__  That wouldn't be too hard a rule is it?_

_It's not like I purposely wanted to get killed, Kenshin!!!_

Not that he'd have to know of course… 

_Just the same, you won't do that sort of thing again.  Not for me.  Or for anyone.  It's not worth it.  My life especially._

_Don't say that!!!_

_I'm serious Miss Kaoru.  You will NOT risk your life EVER, for me, or anyone again.  Is that understood???_

Silence.

_Miss Kaoru?_

_I can't promise you that, Kenshin._

_Don't you think you're just being a little unfair?_

A chuckle.  

_Life's unfair._

_I'm serious._

_So am I._

_What should I do to keep you out of trouble?_

_I don't know Kenshin.  I always get into trouble.  That's just how it is.   Not that you can't say the same for yourself…_

_Don't change the subject.  What should I do to keep you out of trouble?_

_Hmmm…talk to me.  Even once in a while.  I do get lonely._

_Women…_

_What's that??? I can't believe you said that, Kenshin!!!_

A smile.  _Don't worry…I didn't mean it like that…Just wanted to know your reaction…_

_And why is that???_

_Because if you're strong enough to get angry, you're strong enough to live through this.__  I'm glad you're alright._

_Kenshin__…_

_Hnnn__???___

_You're hopeless…_

_I know._

_Demo… I think I like getting to know you a little better.  You seem like a harmless little guy…I shouldn't feel afraid should I???_

_That's NOT a compliment!!!_

_Hey, you said I weigh a hundred and twenty!!!  That's sooo NOT a compliment!!!_

A grunt.  _I don't wanna know…_

_Don't be peevish… You're not a perfect gentleman all the time…_

_Somehow, I think I deserved that._

_Gomen__.__  I wasn't serious.  But I really like you, Kenshin.  We should talk a little more when I get better._

_That would be easy.  You always have a way of finding a back door._

_What's that???_

_Nothing.__  Just get back to sleep._

_What back door???_

_Sleep._

_Kenshin__!!!_

_Sleep.  Or at least let me._

_Oh, alright.  Peevish!!!_

_Fine.__  Goodnight._

_Goodnight Kenshin…_

 . . . . . . . . . .

Lights…

He was lying down on something hard and almost cold, blinding lights shining down his face.

There was someone bending down, feeling his wrist, adjusting something that pricked him senseless.

Needles…They must be needles…He remembered the last time he was forced to lie down like this, needles pricking his arm, his torso…

It was a long time ago but he could still remember the sensation all so clearly.  Like it was just yesterday…

Then a voice.  It sounded clinical to his ears…a voice that is not so unfamiliar.

"I think he's gonna be alright.  He lost so much blood it's a miracle he can even stand up.  If I have known…"

"This is Battousai, Takani-san.  You really should have higher expectations…"

"Battousai or not, we both know the limits of human physiology, Toshima-san.  However strong he is, he's not superhuman, no one is."

"Hai.  But I could only care less…"

"How's the girl?"

"She's alright—for now.  I just can't understand it.  For a moment I thought I lost her.  Then her heart suddenly starts beating like hell.  Not that it's something I shouldn't thank the gods for.  Kamiya deserves to live.  I'm just glad that the miracle came in time…"

"Miracle?  That's hardly what I'd call it.  Notice anything before that happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not so sure…"

_The contact…Some kind of natural conduit allowing energies to pass through…  _

"Takani-san???"

"I don't know…Usually, patients whose life signs dropped that low are beyond helping…And of course, we all know that bio-fluids only react to certain kinds of energies…The valves weren't pumping when the fluids began to react…I mean I read the screen.  Static.  There were no electric impulses.  It's just so strange that something should even happen right at that moment…"

Toshima looked away, turning to face the patient lying on the operating table, red hair strewn loosely around his deathly white face.   "I still say it's a miracle…"

. . . . . . . . . . 

                       

"Secretary Katsura?"

"Saitou?"

Long strides brought the JIB intel agent before a large oak table, his face as cold and anxious as rain pelting the windows before him.  

"I came to report…"

"I know.  I'm getting in touch with Shinomori right this minute…"

Gray eyes flared.  "Aoshi Shinomori?"

"Hai.  Any news about him?  The tracker's been out of touch lately…"

"Sorry, Secretary.  No news about him either."

"Are you sure, Saitou?"

"Quite sure, Secretary."

"About Himura…"

"He'd live through it…He's wounded but the bastard's been through worse.  I can't say the same for the girl though…"

"Kaoru Kamiya should have been taken alive.  Those were your instructions…"

"The situation, I would have to admit, got a little out of hand…"

"A little out of hand?"  Katsura slammed his fists on the table, eyes glaring through the semi-darkness of the room.  He sighed.  "I want to know who's responsible, Saitou.  I didn't give orders to have your trackers engage in a shoot-out operation …and with the girl within range…Gods!!!"

"I'm trying to trace that right now, Secretary.  But it's going to take some time."

"What do you mean?  Are you humoring me, Officer?"

"No sir.  Just want to inform you that the tracker is not one of ours…"

Katsura's eyes dilated, his face going livid.  "What do you mean not one of ours???"

Saitou's lips thinned grimly, as he pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from the inner pocket of his cloak, now glistening with rain under the dim lights.

"We recovered this…"

Katsura reached out to take the package.  Inside was a single bullet.

"It's from a 967 magnum resonance gun, sir.  It couldn't be one of ours."

"I see… And what does that imply?"

"Sir…" Saitou leaned closer, hand supporting his weight as the Secretary stared at the bullet, eyes seeming to register a faint recognition he would not betray so soon… "I think there's someone else we failed to put into the equation…"

"Like who?"

"I'm not sure but…whoever's involved certainly have connections with both the JIB and the underground…"

"Are you suggesting something I should know about in detail?"

"It's not a suggestion, sir, but a theory… If I'm not mistaken, our questions would lead us right back to the Labyrinth…"

"That can't be.  They want Kamiya alive more than anything…"

"This bullet answers that question, sir…"

"How?"

"Kamiya was shot with only seven bullets…"

"And?"

"A 967 magnum carries eight bullets.  The 8th bullet is lethal, designed specifically to kill, rather than just maim or disable the target.  Not that trackers cannot be employed in combat.  It is our understanding however, that though they have the skills, their objective is to hunt—to track down pre-cogs operating illegally, as is often the case…  But as I was saying, when we attacked Himura, we were using all seven tracker bullets…given that our weapons do not and could not have been deploying this kind of resource."

"Of course.  Our magnetic resonance blasters, in fact, came out as an attempt to redesign the 967 magnum prototype…and one of the features which have been revised included the slot for the 8th bullet.  These bullets" he pointed out, holding the object to the light, "…shouldn't in fact be around.  I thought we've carried out necessary measures to make its manufacture both illegal and impossible…"

"I guess such 'necessary measures' didn't cover a few things, Secretary…"

"And would you have a clue?"

"The Labyrinth…"

"That's impossible.  As I said before, our intelligence reports say that Kamiya may have connections with the Labyrinth… And that means, they would want her alive…"       

"Oh, I think she would be alive, sir."

Katsura's eyes shimmered, incredulity and shock written all over it as he shifted his attention back to the outspoken silvery gray eyes that met his.

"But you said she's been brutally shot?"

"Brutally shot sir…but, along with Battousai…"

"I don't understand what you're getting at."

"Himura was wounded with the same bullet you're holding in your hands… Which means that whoever the tracker was, he wanted both to be tortured…but not dead…"

Katsura fell to his seat, eyes glaring at the single bullet held between trembling fingertips.  "You're saying that whoever shot them both wanted them to live through the ordeal, but without suffering extreme excruciating pain?  How was the tracker to know that  Himura and Kamiya would live through it all? Unless of course, he had reasons to know…"

Katsura stopped, eyes dilating, his stare more than enough to indicate what he failed to say in words.   Before him, Saitou stood, eyes gleaming with uncanny satisfaction, like he had just confirmed a brilliant insight that's been festering in his mind for so long.

"Indeed, Secretary Katsura…Whoever the tracker was, he had reasons to know…"

. . . . . . . . . . 

"Sano?"

"Yeah?  Don't you ever go to sleep, Takani?  Or did you wake me up because you've just dreamt about me?  Wanna talk about those fantasies?"

Even in his slurred, sleepy voice, she could detect a hint of amusement.  She winced.

"Look, you ass-licking pervert, I called to tell you that I've found my man."

"Hell, Takani, is that a way to talk to your significant someone???  And in the middle of the night—no dawn for Chrissake!!!"

"Stop babbling you moron and listen.  Himura—he's here."

"WHAATTT!!!  Here where???"

"Kenshin Himura's here at the Pre-cog Institute.   He was badly hurt so I had to get him to stabilize…"

"Wait, hold on.  Himura's hurt?  How the hell did that happen?"

"Look, I didn't call to have you ask questions you're supposed to answer for me.  What I wanna know is  to what extent your organization's involved in all this.  Because I'm sure that the JIB's not behind this—not by a long shot!!!"

"Sheesh, Takani, you think we'd gonna blow the brains out of THE only person we need for the job?  How's the girl???"

"You know about that too???"

"Of course.  Kaoru Kamiya's supposed to be with him.  Don't tell me the JIB has her, cause that's gonna mess up all our plans…not that I should be telling you this of course."

"Well, I appreciate the trust but the girl barely made it.  And by that I mean, she's survived by some strange twist of fate that almost comes close to a miracle…"

"You have your doubts of course?"

"I always have doubts."

"That's a pretty nasty habit you got there, Takani."

"Not half as nasty as yours, Sagara.            

"Fine.  Guess you don't get off as often as I do, then."

"Sanosuke Sagara, THAT will be the last time you're gonna bring up any of that crap, you hear me???"

"Loud and clear Ma'am.  So what's the REAL problem this time?"

"967s are illegal.  That means some crazed killer's out there who wants both Himura and the girl dead."

"Oh?  That's nothing new.  Himura's been living a living hell dodging assassins and god-knows-what-else-the-devil's-got all his life.  What I can't figure out is why the girl should be in it too…"       

"Well…it's really strange.  This pre-cog you refer to by the name Kaoru Kamiya…Something tells me she's not just ANY pre-cog.  I think there's a lot about her that remains to be seen, and I wanna know if you can give me some answers…"

"You know I don't' play that game, Takani.  Military logic dictates that I be careful about "kitsunes" like you who're determined to rip us apart body mind and soul and leave us for dead.  You know what I mean, don't you?  Classified info is not something I can share with anyone just like that.  Though I like you like hell."     

"I don't care about your fucking military logic Sagara!!!  Like what I told you, I'm positive this is not the work of the JIB military police!!!"

"How sure are you Miss?"

"He's been shot by a 967 magnum resonance gun.  Only the bullet went through so the poison didn't affect all his vital organs."

"Y' mean bullet 8?"

"Yeah, that's the one."  

"Hell, even if it didn't it's just a matter of time…"

"I'm telling you it didn't.  Somehow, the poison was neutralized…"

"That's shit, Megumi.  You don't neutralize a poison like that.  That's why the magnum's illegal in the first place."             __

"You think I don't know that already?"

"I think you need some loving, woman.  All this work's making you a little stressed out…"

"I think I'd call you when you've found your brains Sagara.  I don't have time for this fooling around, if you know what I mean?"

"Okay, kay, fine.  I'd be there in twenty minutes."

"Make it fifteen."

"Gods, you're a hard woman, ain't you?"

"It's nice to know someone appreciates it.  Bye."

. . . . . . . . . . 

"W-where am I?"

"Here."

Kaoru opened her eyes and found herself staring at silver blue hues peering into her face.  She tried to sit up but hands pushed her down gently by the shoulder, making her want to struggle.

"Please…you need to rest…"

"There's no time for this…"

Toshima shook his head.  "After what had happened, I'm not letting you out of my sight Kaoru Kamiya…"

She looked at him closely, wondering at the meaning of those words.  She didn't recognize them, but the voice seemed familiar.

Silver blue eyes…

"Dr. Noburo?"

"Toshima would be a start."

"Why am I here?"

"Himura brought you here.  He was--"

"Where is he????" she panicked, sitting up all of a sudden, legs swinging down the bed.  She would have jumped down and walked away in hurried strides if her stomach didn't hurt, forcing her to double over and clutch it, her face constricted with pain.

"I told you, you're not supposed to be up yet," Toshima told her, pulling her head down his chest for support.

"Demo…Kenshin…"

"Why are you so worried about that bastard???  He almost got you killed!!!"

Kaoru shook her head, struggling out of the doctor's embrace, sapphire eyes defiant.  "That's not true.  I got in his way.  They were going to kill him and I can't let that happen…"

Toshima's stare was one of shocked disbelief.  "You saved that madman???  That fucking bastard who goes around killing people, and getting people killed???  He's a JIB assassin for gods sake, and you risked your life to give that devil another chance at life???  Where's the justice in that???  I thought you said you wanted to save the world, help people, that sort of thing.  Where's the logic in saving a good-for-nothing bastard like Himura???"

Kaoru stepped back, small shoulders shaking as she looked at the doctor full in the face, her eyes holding back tears. 

"Because I'm the reason why he suffers so…"

 . . . . . . . . . . 

Kenshin heard it.  All of it.  And he couldn't understand—didn't understand any of it.

He was alone when he woke up under the lights of the operating table—a sure sign that whatever had happened must have something to do with his needing medical attention.  The stitches in his arms and torso hurt, but he tried to walk, swinging his legs down the table to take faltering steps towards the rack where he found his cloak and shirt hanging.  With difficult efforts, he pulled them on, then proceeded to walk the rest of the dim hallway which led to another room separated by a thin paper screen.

The voice.  He recognized the voice, and the shadows from behind the screen merging as hands caught her fall.  He would have broken through the screen to stop him from doing what he thought he was doing if Kaoru protested.  But the girl seemed to welcome the touch, so he stayed, wondering if he should take the cue and leave.

After all, who would bother to listen to insults about himself?  The doctor just engaged in some extensive name-calling which he didn't in the least appreciate.  

Then he heard her say something in muffled tones, forcing him to stop and turn towards the paper screen in time to catch those words…

_Because I'm the reason why he suffers so…_

_The reason why I suffer…_

He didn't know, couldn't know what she meant by those words…though he knew what suffering felt, why he allowed it to happen, why he wanted to endure it, still, hearing it said from another's lips seemed unbelievably…

Astute.  Like hearing fortune tellers say what you already knew and felt as true.

Perhaps real truths are old truths that have no meaning until you've heard it over and over again, the way memories keep repeating themselves in order to be remembered.

And hearing her say it makes it no easier to accept.

But why would she blame herself for something he had brought upon himself?  _What_ does she know about him?  _Why_ does she know about him?

She was struggling from the doctor's embrace, who was pinning her down the bed, perhaps forcing her to relax.  After all, with all the damage she had sustained from the wounds, she shouldn't really be getting herself all worked up.

Then maybe again, the perverted leech has something else in mind.

Then he sensed it.  A movement.  Somebody was watching him in the dark and it had a weapon…  

Reflexes took over.  After all, it wasn't just his safety that matters now …

The paper screen gave way as he slashed through it with his own body, arms reaching out for someone…

"Kenshin!!!!"

Toshima was too slow to react, surprised to find him beside the bed next to Kaoru, arms gripping her shoulder.

"What the fuck--!!!!"

Kenshin glared at him, then turned to the girl who met his gaze with the most incredulous blue eyes he had ever seen.

They were mesmerizing.

"Kaoru…"

Toshima struggled to get up from where he had been pushed, preparing to lunge at the ex-assassin.  

But it was the voice as deep and dangerous as the muted whisper of death that called his attention, as it echoed in the darkness of the hallway beyond…

"If you even dare move Battousai—"

He froze, recognizing the voice from a dim haze of memories that kept his mind searching for clues.  Of course he had been threatened before, countless times in fact, but this one…

He braced himself as the memory returned...

_Shinomori__???___

He knew who he was and knew that the danger could be just as real as death…  

"Kenshin???"

Her voice.  He turned to it, and the danger made his heart just skip another beat…

"Kenshin!!!"

He heaved her in his arms, pushing her head towards his chest where cakes of blood stuck to her cheeks and arrested her nostrils with a stench that almost frightened her.

He didn't look at her, his eyes straight ahead…measuring glass.

Her eyes grew wide as purple turned amber, his legs working towards closing the distance…

"You're not—"

"Close your eyes and stay down, Kaoru.  That's an order!!!"

"Demo…Kenshin!!!"

The glass was coming closer...

Something warm closed in on her as she closed her eyes, clutching arms that pulled her close…        

The world crashed around them…and then there was nothing but darkness again. 

. . . . . . . . . .       

           ****

**Author's comments:**

**Minako****:  Thanks for enjoying the fic so far!!!  I'll try updating regularly, I promise… though it's March and March is always a very busy month for me.  In fact, my other fics must wait 'til I can fit them into my schedule…Demo…thanks again!!!  ^_^**

**Sandy****:  Always happy to know you're still around!!!  I hope you'll enjoy this too.  And I promise to send a personal e-mail to thank you more properly.  I hope you'd be around by the time I finish this one.  It might take months---Geez…why am I such a slow poke when it comes to plot?  It drags, but don't worry.  Things will be a bit faster in the next chapter.  I think I've put enough effort here to tie some loose ends (only to make new ones…I'm fagged out!!!!)  Again, thanks a lot!!!  Give my regards to your family, and until next time!!!^_^**

**bittersweetKandy****:  Oh, I'll update sooner I promise!!!  Thanks for reading this!!!**

**yuki****:  I know I know.  Little S/M here but there'd be a lot next time, promise!!!**

**Nightrain****:  Yeah, I shot Kaoru, but she's alive now, so I hope you enjoyed this.  Thanks for the support!!!  Hope you stick around!!!**

**Moonwind****:  Ah, another Filipino???  I hope you continue reading this stuff.  I'm a bad, lousy poet but when you said I describe feelings like poetry, I was so flattered it made me feel like I wanna be a poet overnight!!!  Heck, it's never gonna happen but I can write some for fun, can't I?  Thanks for the review, and most of all for reading the fic.  THANKS!!!  ^_^**

**Shojin**** Takaru:  So much pain, anguish…I know.  I hope there'd be more fun in the next chappie.  Want to suggest something FUN???  Please do!!!**

**Akai Kitsune:  Thanks for liking the "character growth."  I hope they outgrow this stupid, immature writer in me who can't get enough of RRK… Again, thanks!!!!**

**Tsaieric****:  Kaoru's alive!!!!  Yeah, it's a cause for celebration!!!  WIIIPPPEEEE!!!!!!!**

**Jason M. Lee:  Oh, you reviewed this one again!!!  Thanks!!!  Uhhhh, careful about the lava though…I promise not to hurt Kaoru THAT bad again (Maybe not in the upcoming chapter).  But the LAVA!!!!  Now, do you ever wonder why your name scares the hell out of me???  Love you though, for always being there.  Thanks, thanks, THANKS !!!^_^      **

      __

       

                          

  ****


	10. Heavenly Blue

**Depend On You**

_By Hotaru_

**Author's Notes:  Okay, I'm guilty of not updating as often and as promptly as I should.  My three other stories, **Wasurenaide**, ****Heartbreak Café, and ****Heaven Help Me have been put in the back burner for a while (though I intend to continue all the stories) for the same reason that April and May are VERY busy school months for me (no summer break, so it kinda sucks that I have to work, I'm so lazy you know!!!)   Anyway, I'll try to write more when I have time.  Again, thanks to all those who've read this far, especially to Sandy, Spam, and Hikari Kage.  I will post my responses to your reviews in the next chapter, but for now, THANKS AGAIN TO ALL THE REVIEWERS OUT THERE!!!  You inspire me so much. ^_^**

**FAN FIC SPOILER ALERT!!!!:  If you don't wanna know some of the details in the next chapters, ****DON'T READ!!!! But for some reviewers out there who'd been asking questions via e-mail, rather than through the Fanfiction. Net review network, here are my answers.  (It's OKAY for you to send your reviews through e-mail if you want some privacy.  I'm not obsessed with counting reviews anyway…All I want to know is that people are enjoying this fic.  ^_^)  However, I can't disclose as many details as you want, without killing the suspense for the other readers.  I'm sure you guys understand ^_^.**

            Anyway, the only reason I'm posting these reviews/questions and answers in public is to be transparent about my own views (though I've got to admit that doing this is helluva lot easier than sending replies via-email for each and every reader ^_^).  In fact, even negative reviews appear below.   

**Oh, and don't worry, the NEW CHAPTER, as well as the REVISED portions of the last chapter are posted below… so here goes…!!!      **

Q**:  You said a lot of things about OOC stuff but there's hardly any difference between K&K here and the K&K we're already familiar with, from the TV series and the manga.  **

A:  First of all, putting in an OOC element, for me, does NOT mean putting somebody else's words in the characters' mouths or fitting them in other people's shoes even if that'd make them interesting. For example, for Kenshin to be Kenshin, he must still be CAPABLE, to a large extent, of thinking and feeling as the original Kenshin thinks and feels, even if the actual ideas and emotions are different from what have been explored in the original... In my fic's case, I've decided to focus on the contradictions, rather than consistencies in the creation of the RRK characters.  For example, the original Kenshin participated in the most violent revolution that altered the history of Japan, yet, he was one to believe that violence is not an effective means of changing society, or the human heart.  He loves Kaoru, but the evidence of a non-fading scar seems to suggest that his feelings for Tomoe were just as intense, and will never be forgotten (Aaaargh, one point for Tomoe fans out there!!!!)  The worst thing was, he chose his atonement over Kaoru and Kenji (in the OAV series at least) only to realize in the end that atonement does not bring true happiness—only forgetting does, for in forgetting, we regain our capacity to remember what is essential to the human spirit—love, of course, being the most important of these (mush, I know...^_^)               

Ironically, the TV series is so optimistic you can't help seeing Kenshin as the smiling rurouni who doesn't seem to be capable of leaving a young wife and her son behind (So the OAV sort of makes you wanna hurl tomatoes at Kenshin for being so insensitive, because he'd rather look after somebody else's welfare than his family's as if they don't need him at all blah blah blah... yet, it's obvious that the writer did some excellent research in Zen Buddhism and the political/psychological atmosphere of the Meiji era, because Kenshin reflected all of that—the pessimism of the times, the economic and political depression—the philosophy that happiness, like human destiny requires no god, but must be earned through self-sacrifice, i.e. deprivation of all sorts of pleasures, mostly carnal)  Anyway, my point is, the OAV is a grand example of developing an OOC that extends, explores, (and reconciles) any one of the potential ironies and inconsistencies in the original storyline—such as the conflict between personal happiness, which is worldly, and true enlightenment, which requires that happiness be sought in the next life, through suffering and deprivation (explaining why Kenshin truly "smiled" at the end of the OAV when his ultimate suffering, and death, finally allowed him to earn the right to be happy).  Theoretically, therefore, a Kenshin in an A/U fic remains to be Kenshin only in so far as he violates **everything BUT an essential attribute that defines his character through and through—that is, as the OAV, the TV series, and the manga showed, Kenshin sort of came through everything despite his own little follies and limitations, to prove how much he loved the most important people in his life...                            **

In much the same way, Kenshin's character in my fic revolves around emotional conflicts, and the OOC part is where the emotional conflict has been altered to explore how the original character may react if the circumstances were different... And since I'm a terribly loyal K&K fan, I decided to make Kaoru just as confused and complicated ^_^  For example, Kenshin here is much like the original—he believes in both karma and free will, he's  brave and self-sacrificing and all that, but unlike the original in some respects, Kenshin's loyalty and "devotion" (his name also means that, right?) is ultimately questioned.  

I find this fascinating because in the original, there's no question where his loyalty lies.  He chose Kaoru, and to prove it, had fought the last person he wanted to fight to defend her, which makes up the twist of the story because it takes a "greater" amount of love to transcend so much heartache and guilt (Yup!!! One point for Kaoru-dono!!!).  To some extent, Tomoe's role was very "instrumental" to showing how Kenshin's feelings for Kaoru can, in fact, be strong enough to unshackle him from previous other loyalties and commitments (After all, it wouldn't be true love if it can't overcome something as catastrophic as the memory of killing one's first love, neh???).  The only compensation for Tomoe fans, I guess, was his little speech that the past won't be forgotten—and I'm glad Noburo Watsuki was quite fair to Tomoe on that level, because the graveyard part was just too painful (if I were a Tomoe fan, I would have cried).  It made clear that Kenshin had to say goodbye because he had moved on, and moving on meant leaving Tomoe behind, and taking his place beside Kaoru.         

I don't know why, but I find it rather funny and disturbing, imagining how the real Kenshin might behave if Tomoe and Kaoru co-existed, and developed attachments to him in rather different ways.  I think Kenshin's real feelings for Tomoe had never really been fully explored in the OAV, the TV series and the manga, because Kenshin's own insight about his feelings could only be too clouded by guilt to allow him to articulate in any way what those real feelings might have been, even if he were to be completely honest.  Once you acknowledge that ambiguity, you'd realize that Kenshin's depth of feelings for Kaoru, can also be questioned.  So I guess in an A/U fic where the two women retained most of their essential qualities—minus Tomoe's "obsession" with revenge, and Kaoru's "tomboyishness"—one can more fully appreciate the reason why Kenshin MIGHT choose one of these two, over the other... 

The story of course, should be something more than just a treatise on the K&K love angle, because it would be too shallow and sappy if it's only that (Gosh... I love sappy though—sometimes!!!!) Also, I added Aoshi and Misao, as well as Sano and Megumi because an RK fic, won't be a fic, without these very important people, I guess ^_^!!!  Anyway, I think the "real" problem in RK is more than a problem of CHOICE.  In the original, the choice seems to be motivated more by circumstance, than character—Kenshin had more in common with Tomoe, but she's dead and Kaoru's around—but my argument is, Kenshin's CHOICE had to do more with who he is, and an essential part of who he really is can only be explored in a fic that doesn't play up the impossibility of choosing one woman over the other (Like Tomoe being dead, or really evil, or cheating on Kenshin, or in love with Akira, or simply non-existent, --situations which amputate the problem by making it "naturally" impossible for Kenshin to be in love with her).  

In any case, it can be my poor writing skills, but I think a lot of this explains why the plot drags on, as a lot of you complain about.  I don't think I can explore this angle if the story is plot-oriented in the first place.  It's built on developing character tensions, and tensions are by nature, internally motivated, although external events have a big role in determining where those tensions would lead.  You might disagree, but I think those tensions were prematurely treated by Watsuki (I love the author though, so don't flame!!!! And I don't blame him—I mean, comic book stories are almost always plot-oriented, and if it's intended for a male audience, well, you know what I mean ^_^ sorry for males out there, though!!!!).  In any case, I feel the NEED to understand the reason behind that choice as having more profound implications—WHY Kenshin would choose one woman over the other even if they are equal in strength and weakness in a lot of ways (Like Tomoe's beautiful, she's a good cook but she's also got bad blood—having a brother with "nerves of insanity" might prove that—while Kaoru's got a bad temper, she's a bad cook, but she's innocent in a lot of ways, and strong-hearted in more than a lot of ways).  Besides, I'm confident that there's something more to the couple (whether K&K or K&T) than what we see on the surface, and THAT might just be a very strong reason to admire them more than any other in the anime universe ...        

Q:  **Is Batousai in this fic evil?  Linay's Battousai is sooo interesting because his violent nature seems to show that he's almost that—but not quite. **

A:  No.  My Battousai is not "evil"—just confused maybe.  Just like the original Battousai, he thought he could kill for the love of his country (yeah, more wincing later!!!) and though it's almost an outmoded philosophy in the modern times, well, Battousai goes to prove that some people still believe in changing the world and succeeding (count me in!!!!^_^).  Suffice to say though, his violence is not part of his nature, but it's necessary for the job.  In this light, I'm not introducing a lot of OOC because that's REALLY part of the original characterization.  As Tomoe in the OAV said so astutely, "When he's not killing anyone, he's too kind…"  That's the Battousai I will love forever, I guess—the Battousai who can't hurt a fly, much less women, unless they happen to carry a sword and threaten to kill him.  ^_^

Q:  **Will Kaoru attempt to kill Kenshin in the future? How?**

A:  Secret!!!  Gods, why do you have to ask even THAT???  What you should know, though, is the fact that Kaoru and Kenshin share the same nature when their killing instincts are aroused—which explains why they have similar amber eyes!!!  But something more powerful than both of them is coming fast, and Saitou had just given us clues as to what the abilities of this enemy are--abilities which allowed him/her to manipulate our beloved couple…  The triumvirate will soon be complete…  Aaargh…. You made me tell!!!!  ^_^

Q:  **Is Kaoru gonna be wimpy for the rest of the story?  How many times would she have to get killed to make Kenshin realize his feelings for her? **

A:  No, she's not another Jean Grey in that respect (i.e. the X-woman Marvel comic hero, if I recall correctly, died more times than I could count) but I must say that Kaoru's bound to make a lot of sacrifices, for which I think she deserves some credit (aaargh…feminists hurling tomatoes at me, make them stop!!!!!)  

Seriously though, sacrifice is NOT a sign of being wimpy and Kaoru has her earthshaking reasons for making such sacrifices, but none of them include seducing Kenshin or arousing his pity and affection.  In fact, she made it possible for Kenshin and Tomoe to meet, right?  How she did that will be revealed later, but think about this—Why would she even think of manipulating circumstances to make K/T end up being together when she has obvious feelings for Kenshin?  For that matter, why does she seem to accept Kenshin's relationship with Tomoe so readily? (i.e. she mentioned Tomoe's name at least twice, in connection with Kenshin's relationship with the woman.)  She obviously knows something about our dear Kenshin which he doesn't know about yet, and whatever she does on the basis of that knowledge is bound to be more mysterious as the plot thickens.  What is more interesting is when Kenshin DOES find out!!!!  Whaaaa!!!! I can't wait for it to happen…  How will he react when he finds out that Kaoru wanted he and Tomoe to be together just because----- OOOpppsss… no more major spoilers, gomen!!!! ^_^       

So, if you start thinking about real strength, you can say that in this fic's case, consciousness is the real battleground—not some physical arena where dashing hunks with fast guns and killer swords rule.  And that's precisely where I want Kaoru's true strength to be…

Q:  **What's wrong with Kaoru?  Does she have a "fear complex"?  Why does she waver between wanting to be with Kenshin and wanting to escape him, as in the first few chapters?**

A:  Well as for Kaoru's "fear complex," it sounds like she's suffering from some abnormality but really, she's hardly normal here—even genius isn't normal!!! Anyway, all I can say for now is Kaoru's afraid of something only she and a handful of people know about… Could it have something to do with future possibilities that have threatening consequences should they be actualized?  Perhaps.  This might be the reason why K/K's meeting was full of tension—and why, as you guys say, Kaoru tried to escape Kenshin only to feel relieved when he came to her rescue.  Her meeting with Kenshin was supposed to be a sign that one of those "frightening" possibilities was slowly being fulfilled … possibilities she's not prepared to divulge to Kenshin, nor allow herself to submit to.   The problem is, once possibilities have started to become actualized, you can't really struggle against compulsions taking over to make that possibility a reality, so our Kaoru ends up being confused about her real motives for wanting to be with our dear Kenshin, and as we all know, confusion leads to inaction.  So Kaoru may have her misgivings but try as she might, she can't get away from Kenshin—and observing Kenshin, I think he's having the same problem (Hah!!! More torture for the love birds!!! ^_^) Anyway, the abruptness in the dialogue between K/K in chap. 8 should indicate what happens when you've got unconscious bonds surfacing after years of alienation.  You end up sounding "familiar" and feeling things that seem to be out of place…                                

Q:  **How come there aren't OOCs and lemons yet?  Linay's good at handling that stuff at least—especially the romance-violence angle.  **

A:  I agree with you guys a 101%. Linay's SOOO GOOOD there's no debate on that.  However, if you're asking about bathroom/bathtub scenes, about hair pulling, about Kenshin fighting off potential Kaoru rapists in smoky teahouses, or Kaoru being too goddamn drunk to be responsible for flirting outrageously with our poor tormented Battousai (i.e. like changing sexes is okay so long as it depends on water temperature), then I'd like to tell you that as much as I have no right to judge other writer preferences, I DON'T GO FOR THAT KIND OF STUFF AS A FIC WRITER.  That doesn't mean of course that I hate naughty stuff—or that I'm too much of a moralist to appreciate some refreshing, harmless bit of imaginative fun.  I swear that some naughty stuff I do fantasize about includes the carwashing scene involving a very wet Kaoru and a lovestruck Kenshin in one of Aya Komiyama's fanfics.  (She recently finished it, and I was so happy about how everything turned out ^_^!!!!)  (Carwash, carwash, wince, blink, wince…… geez, I wonder how many guys actually fantasize about that????)  

Anyway, I guess you're right.  It's a matter of handling stuff and I'm still learning.  My stand on any fic I write has always been RESTRAINT—maybe I'm not handling it well so there's a lot of repetition and the plot drags, I admit ^_^--demo, going back to the topic, this is why even if "Heaven Help Me" has lots of OOC, it doesn't go beyond Kenshin's verbal insults for Kaoru—no physical beating, it upsets me, though, honestly, most good writers I've read do incorporate a lot of sexual violence in their fics.  Anyway, if you're fascinated by it, well, that's your issue and there's no reason why I should even be worried so long as you don't translate it into something real (DON'T FLAME!!! I'm just giving an honest opinion okay???).  Anyway, as I've always said, I'm not THAT young anymore to consider violence exciting, or had seen enough violence to make me want to imagine it on anyone—even anime characters! 

**More importantly, I think suspense should not be interpreted simply as a matter of delaying sexual gratification, and for the love of K&K I hope that you guys understand how loving a character means thinking the way they do, rather than making them think the way you would... ^_^                    **

**This is the reason why I can't help if my plot drags—I don't want my chapters to be mere changes of scenery where Kenshin and Kaoru have nothing more interesting to do than fight, make up and make love.  Lemons are interesting, I agree definitely, but the story must make them interesting, rather than the other way around... For that matter, I think other characters in the RK universe deserve to be other than an interesting back drop, or a momentary distraction to where the romance/sexual episode is going.  Unfortunately, some of the best writers I know in the fanfic field seem to focus on sexual violence as the main plot of the story, fitting each character into roles that simply enhance or prolong the deployment of even more violence and sex in the story.   This doesn't mean that the narrative style, the delivery, becomes less admirable.  However, I believe that anime characters should be respected and that while OOCs or "Out of Character" elements should give writers enough room for originality, it shouldn't be an excuse for fitting Kenshin and Kaoru into roles that have no other connection to the original RK universe other than their names and faces.  And if a writer's intention is simply to use the names to conjure the image, but not the soul, then s/he does not only devalue her or his readers, but also the original creation and its creator...           **

**For fans out there who say otherwise, please don't shoot me for this.  I'm not earning anything from writing fanfics and will gain nothing by upsetting anyone, including your favorite writers.  Though my personal feelings are deeply involved in any of the opinions above, my motives for discussing them are hardly personal—more in the direction of clarifying and explaining my OWN issues, not to mention my limits.  Besides, at our age, we should know what to like and believe in, and I'm not the type to spend a lot of time convincing people about anything.  Also, please consider the fact that this is not directed to ANY fan out there but to readers who wanted me to discuss these issues… I think they deserve an honest opinion, and I'm ready to risk everything for that.  If you're offended, I apologize, and I hope you understand my reasons.  (Sweatdrops)  Gomen nasai!!!  ^_^        **

**REVISION ALERT:  There are some parts which I've revised based on some of the reviews I got.  Below are extracts showing the revised portions—some of them quite crucial like Kenshin's feelings for Tomoe while he was thinking of Kaoru—yeah, I know, I've sort of neglected Tomoe and Misao in the last few chapters—GOMEN!!!  Anyway, thanks if you can find the time to read them!!!!**

**REVISIONS (Chapter 8):**

"Look, Toshima…" Kenshin hissed, eyes matching the glint of the long sword.  "I don't give a fuckin' shit about you and your problems, but if you won't tell me where Dr. Genzai is—"

"You expect me to know where he is???" Toshima laughed sarcastically, eyes meeting the swordsman's death glare.  "You're the one screwing the JBI, you're the one who hurt Kaoru, you're a demon and you can go to hell for all I care!!!! In fact, there's nothing more I want than to see you die and rot in hell, you bloody fucking bastard!!!"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed, taking in the abrupt display of emotion that only made him more edgy for some reason.

Not that what the doctor said was true.

But it wasn't entirely false, either.

After all, he _did_ hurt the girl, didn't he???  He let them hurt her…

Perhaps even kill her… 

Because he allowed her to get in his way…to take the pain meant for him…

But why?  Why did she risk her life to save him?  What did he do to deserve her pity?

_Pity…   _

He couldn't be sure… Then again, there couldn't be any other reason… except maybe, the girl's naïve compassion for all of humanity…which shouldn't include him…

After what he had done, he had no claim to humanity, or what's become of it…

Kenshin looked down, wondering at those thoughts, those questions… wondering at the silent sleeper in his arms, whose face looked strangely at peace…

He remembered the fear in her eyes when she first had seen him, the flashes of hate and contempt that marred it when she was attacked by a man in the alley, and the look of absolute loss when she fell in his arms…

It almost seemed like she wanted to die…

But death is an eternity with neither a beginning nor end…

He felt cold sweat trickle down his nape.  

Death.  He too had wished it for himself before he met Tomoe…  

_Iie__…This is not the time to think about death Kamiya…Someday you will find someone to live for…_

_Just like me, you would have to find your answer…your own truth…_

_This is not the end…        _

He lowered his sword, eyes hovering thoughtfully, mind contemplating the odds as his eyes brought him back to his present surroundings…   

He didn't have much time.

His world had always been dark.  Tiring.  The darkness, the despair, the endless nightmares that never saw the light…      

It was all _so_ tiring…

She wanted to get away from it all…to escape him…to escape the memories that she had to share with him every minute and every second of her waking life…

That was the price she had to pay.

But now, there would be no more of that.  She can stay here in this endless sunlight…this perfect world where there will be no one to call to her, no one to hurt her, no one she could hurt…

**_*_**_Just a dream… *___

She grabbed her head, wanting the voice to stop.

_*Just a dream… *_

_Demo…Why can't I just stay here???  It's what I've always wanted…this dream where I can finally be alone…_

_I just want to be alone… Why can't people just leave me alone???_

_*You've always been alone… And that is what hurts you the most isn't it?*_

Her lips trembled.

_*You don't want to be alone, Kaoru.  You don't have to be alone…*   _

Above her, the sun shone through an infinite white and blue, the splendor almost blinding in radiance.  But something in it made her wince away, flinch away…

It was empty.  The infinite blue was empty.  

As empty as her soul…

Kenshin…

If she remained with him, she would have to face the consequences… The loneliness, the pain, everything he felt, everything he suffered and endured would be hers and hers alone…

Pain shared is pain halved… 

She felt herself sinking into a vast, bottomless darkness, the well of memories in her mind drowning her, suffocating her…   

*Face it Kaoru…you don't want to be alone… *

She looked up, forcing her mind to reach out through the infinite barrier of space above her… through and above the infinite shadows… 

Kenshin…

Amber eyes.  Blood.  Hate. Despair.  Darkness.

Kenshin…

Death…

Healing…

Kenshin…

Katsura fell to his seat, eyes glaring at the single bullet held between trembling fingertips.   "Torture?  Don't you think that's a little unlikely?  For one thing, how was the tracker to know those two would survive, given the risks? There's just too much room for error in that kind of undertaking, making the logic totally insupportable, Saitou.  Unless of course, the people behind all this madness had reasons to know…maybe even predict the consequences…"

Katsura stopped, eyes dilating, his stare more than enough to indicate what he failed to say in words.   Before him, Saitou stood, eyes gleaming with uncanny satisfaction, like he had just confirmed a brilliant insight that's been festering in his mind for so long.

"Indeed, Secretary Katsura…" _Whoever the tracker was, he had reasons to know… and those reasons may be akin to a gift that allows him to predict the future…_

_That much is clear at least…_

_Too bad Himura has yet to know his true enemies…_

_And I thought I was the only one…_

Now, on with the story…

**Chapter 9:  Heavenly Blue  **

**Your nearness**

**Is as unreachable**

**As the depth of a raindrop**

**Falling into the ocean**

**Of my restless fear.**

Darkness moved in strides as a lone figure stood in the shadows, contemplating silence.

A step.  A cold wind blowing strands of blue-black hair across narrowed eyes that stared into the depths of a shadowed emptiness racing towards oblivion.

_Not this time, Himura.  You've run out of luck..._

Shinomori aimed.

15 meters... 17..... 18....

He had never been less than accurate.  Coldly precise and accurate.  A tracker never can be less.

That was his job.

No.  That was what he lived for.  To be the best.  Miyu Tsukiyama never could take his obsession... then again... she would never live to see it.

Now, he had nothing else to live for... save the goal that would have had meaning if she were alive to witness it.

Alive.  That was the problem.  

She's dead.    

But this is not the time to think about the past.  Even if it included Himura.   Even if...

She died because Himura wasn't good enough to get the job done.  

To think that Miyu even trusted him...

Perhaps she did more than that even...

Shinomori closed his eyes and waited.

That was his one talent that no one else—not even the JIB's top assassin—could ever compete with.

His sense of anticipation.

His sense of hearing.  Needless to say, a tracker of his caliber can shoot a target 50 meters from his position by just taking in the sound.  The silence.  The movement of a heartbeat.  The sound of muscle struggling against time and distance.

And he could hear him now.

Fear.  Himura was not the kind to know fear.  That was the only reason why he had never been able to use his skill effectively against the ex-assassin.

No fear, no heartbeat, no sound.  Just the cold, raging silence of determination.

That was Himura.  That was precisely what made him better...

But not now.  Oh, he could hear it alright.

The heartbeat that betrayed only too much... It was almost...

Nauseating.

Because she was just a hostage that was more of a burden than an advantage to him.  Why fear for her life, why struggle against the compulsion to stand his ground and face him, the way he did ten years ago?  To think that the ex-assassin should even have emotions at all... and for someone...

Someone he wasn't supposed to protect... 

_Should I let you die by your own hands, Himura? That a killer such as yourself should even be anywhere near Kamiya... A danger, which I think you fail to comprehend..._

_Then again, perhaps, you're better off not knowing the truth..._

_Because it can AND will kill you...___

_Not that I have any objections to that. _

_After all, even if Miyu told me not to blame you, I will always have you to hate, if only to remember her by...             _

_And that is what I'm here for..._

_To make you remember that you are mine to kill when I want you to die.___

30 meters, 32... 33...34...

_Not too close, and not too far...  I don't want to blow your brains out, Himura.  I have my instructions and your death is not in it._

_Not yet.  Because that's for me to decide._

_35 meters, 38... 40... 42... 45..._

Aiming at any target within a 50 meter range is easy.

But Aoshi Shinomori, Special Operations Unit, Tracker B-22 knew only too well that not killing Himura would require more than accuracy to accomplish.

It would require willpower—the desire to overcome instincts and compulsions that have been driven to hate for ten years.

47... 49...

_Let's see you fly this time, Battousai..._

_Because that's the only thing you can do to help me not to kill you...    _

. . . . . . . . . . . 

** "You told me they would be safe…"**

Hiko paced the room, a glass of wine held tentatively between fingertips.  "I don't think that's _exactly what I said…"_

"Well then what did you say?  And would it matter now?  All I want is to have my daughter back.  You said ten years…"

"Ten years, Lady Kamiya, is not such a long time…"

"Ten years is enough.  That was the agreement.  And I am not one who lets people change their minds in the last minute…"

Hiko saw the glimmer in the woman's face—those blue eyes that stood sharply against pale, ivory-white skin.  Years had not changed her beauty—if it, in fact, did anything remotely akin to change, it made her even more beautiful.  

And dangerous.  He shook his head, taking a long sip.

"We have intervened with Fate long enough as it is.  Maybe this is how we must suffer to pay the price…"

"You don't need to believe in Fate to suffer, Hiko-san.  I thought you've accepted that as I did."

"I accept nothing, believe nothing.  I thought you knew."

She laughed, a laugh that was sad, almost tearful.  "You haven't changed, _anata… you haven't changed a single bit since we—"_

A knock on the door caused both to turn their head towards the sound.  Muttering a soft curse under his breath, Hiko opened the door, glass still balanced in one hand.

"This better be good."

The young man bowed, sweat damping his black uniform.  "From Shinomori sir."

Hiko took the envelope, closing the door shut on the man's face.

"What is it?"

"Shinomori," Hiko told her, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he folded the note and slipped it into his breast pocket.  "He's found Kaoru Kamiya."

"Are you sure she's safe with him?"

"You didn't let me finish."

"What do you mean?"

Hiko turned to her, putting his half-emptied glass down.  "Himura still has your daughter.  And if the man's as stubborn as the boy I had known him to be, he's not gonna give in without a fight, no matter the odds.  And we both know the reason, don't we?"

Lady Kamiya sighed, folding her fan, her kimono dress of peach silk rustling as she moved towards the bay window, eyes toward a gray-patched sky.  

"That is one thing that cannot be allowed… We didn't wait this long only for this..."

"Don't you think I know enough about that?"

"Hai, but to protect my daughter's destiny, I'm ready to face all odds—even kill Himura myself if he gets in the way…"

"I doubt that would be possible… We may not know anything about Himura's feelings, but I can't say much about the girl… Arouse her anger and she will be too much—even for the both of us…"

"I assure you that she wouldn't go against my wishes…"  

"Still, you'd have Himura to worry about.  He's not someone to stand aside once he learns the truth."

"He doesn't have to know."

"If there is something to regret, that would be it…"

"We can't afford regrets, Seijuro... just as we can't afford 'us'.  If we did… "

"If we did, all hell will break loose.  And in a choice between two necessities, suffering is inevitable…"

Lady Kamiya approached him, fingertips grazing his cheek tenderly, softly, with a feather-like lightness that made him tremble with repressed urgency.  

"Hai…demo…just as we've endured, they will endure.  For their sake more than anything."

"For their sake… It's a contradiction they will not appreciate itoshii… in much the same way we didn't…and couldn't…"

. . . . . . . . . .        

He thought he swore for the last time, but he was wrong.

Shinomori's eyes bored into him, and he could feel it—the aura that told him how much the tracker wanted to get him this time.

_So pick up your ass and move it.  She can't be THAT heavy—and you're not that old to complain anyway.    _

Kenshin cursed as the last of those thoughts dwindled away, letting him focus on more urgent matters this time.  Not that his concentration had been anything less than efficient.  But he would have to admit that his mind had been on _other_ things...

The girl.  The glass could have stabbed her in a dozen places, and it was more than enough to keep him distracted.

Distractions always get in the way, and he hated it.  Because it made him hate other things.

Like glass.

_I know the damn thing's gonna hurt her like hell..._

Running.

_Because bullets are a hundred times faster..._

And Aoshi Shinomori.

_The bastard who'd shoot his own mother if she happens to cross his line of fire...   _

Kenshin winced at the thought.  He remembered the _kodachi_ that the man used to carry with him in better days... deadly knives that had far better aim than guns, and far better speed than bullets.  Except that the traditional weapons couldn't be more effective when it comes to killing.

And he and Shinomori had that in common.  The prerogative to kill.  Mere swordplay is unacceptable in their line of duty.       

Unlike Shinomori though, he had kept to his sword after his _first retirement._

It was more of a joke.  An ex-assassin carrying a sword?  But what really got to him was the idea that until now, people expected him to kill.  The JIB at least, was more than willing to give him his old job—under a different name.

He could still kill... But he had promised Tomoe...

It was a half-truth he wouldn't readily admit because he knew far better than his conscience that Tomoe had really nothing to do with it.

No, it had more to do with himself.

As he had told Misao Makimachi that night, _killing shouldn't be so easy..._

Because ease means a natural drive to kill... And he can't accept that about anyone.  Even about himself.   

Killing had given him nothing but nightmares.  When he was alone, each night was a living hell.  

At least until he had met Tomoe...

For that, he should give her proper credit.  

With her, those nightly visitors had become more tolerable.  He would still see them, taste and smell the blood spilling into his half-awaked consciousness, like an endless waterfall.  But she had been his anchor, the only thing that held his sanity when fears threaten to sweep it back into the currents of self-doubt and annihilation. 

With Tomoe, he was able to forget... even partially...

But deny as he might, it made him guilty to think of her this way.  That he had actually used her to forget... to lull him into a dreamless distraction where the mind may lose itself to a calling more intimate but unjustified...

Unjustified because its motives were questionable...

Unjustified because he had allowed his weakness to take from her what he could not return...

 But that would almost suggest the unthinkable...

That he didn't love her enough, or know her enough to know what to love... 

And THAT had always kept him from surrendering all of him to her completely... the way she had always done... and always will, perhaps... 

But to admit the fault, but not the crime of using it to get what he wanted, was almost criminal in itself... 

That he could have used her...  It was an idea too unfair to her to deserve further thought.

_Shit.  Why can't you just keep on running and think about that later?  _

He had a mind to curse himself with an entirely new vocabulary of his own invention when he _sensed_ it.

_Damn you Shinomori._

The aim was precise, and the shot even more so...  Just imagining it pierced his senses like bullet against rice paper. 

But that was far from what really drew his attention this time.  

There was another... another presence—a familiar one—and it could be the ONLY reason why reality had not caught up with his imagination.

In other words, the shot didn't come as he had anticipated...

But to stop Shinomori from doing what he did would be almost courting death itself... 

Then again...

_Whoever thought of standing in his way must be either too damned stupid to know what she was doing, or just conceited enough to believe she was better than the devil himself...  _

He froze.  Whatever it was he was thinking just made him slightly uncomfortable for some reason.

He just referred to the stranger as a she... 

_Demo... I could be wrong... I mean, what crazed female would want to get in Shinomori's way?      _

He thought of the possibilities, and it led to just one answer.

_Dammit__.  Not her._

He wished he was wrong.

. . . . . . . . . . .

"Stand back, Shinomori.  And I mean it this time."

The tracker snickered, ice blue eyes meeting a pair of blue green ones that hovered between panic and contempt.

Whatever was in her mind, though, was far from what the rest of her body communicated to him.  Her arm was poised firmly towards him, the magnum raised just mere inches from his right temple.

If not for her eyes, it looked like she really could kill him.

She did not hesitate to tell him that.

"Move it, damn you!!!  Drop the gun and let's see those hands up, before I get itchy and blow something up other than your brains!!!"

Shinomori just had to chuckle.  For a little girl, she was brave.

No.  Stupid might come closer.  After all, sheer bravery must require some amount of naivety...

The girl pushed the nozzle an inch closer, bruising skin.  "God dammit, drop the weapon, tracker!!!  Now!!!"

Shinomori could have picked up the kodachi around his belt before she could breath, but decided against it.  She was starting to interest him, and the game if it can be called that, must be given a chance to begin.   

He lowered his weapon to the ground, eyes staring unblinkingly ahead of him, to scrutinize shadows which silhouetted her figure so effectively only her eyes were visible enough.  

"For a killer, you're very impatient.  Not that women aren't always are."

She moved the nozzle to the center of his forehead, but he didn't even flinch.  Not that she expected him to.

"I hate listening to dead people, so shove the snide remarks up your ass, Shinomori.  I'm the one who's gonna do some talking around here and you better have the ears to listen, or you'd lose them.  Now move!!!"

If he had heard those words from Himura, he would have given a second thought before...

Laughing.

That's just as close as he could describe his next move.  Of course, any opponent would have been so goddamn pissed off to consider it as anything more than an invitation to die.

But he knew her far too well to expect that.

No.  Misao Makimachi would have done something else.

And she did.

She kicked his balls and pushed him as hard as her weight could.

"Crazy bastard, if you wanna have some fun, go fuck your ass 'coz I'm not playing games here!!!"

He stood to his full height, and she came nowhere near his shoulder even.  But her eyes...

Those blue green eyes held more fire than anything he had ever seen who had twice her size and strength.

An attribute she could have only inherited from nobody lesser than the same man who trained him...

The man to whom he had sworn his loyalty and service...

"Indeed, this is not the time to play games, Makimachi..." he told her, ignoring the heat of the pain that lingered around his groin.  "In fact, if I have no memory of who you are, I would have done something irrevocably regretful to make you forget who I am..."

"Really now?  I hardly think that a person such as yourself is easy to forget..."  She told him icily, face emerging from the shadows as she stepped forward, slowly, deliberately, to stare him full in the face.  

Shinomori stared back unblinkingly, waiting for the shadows to part.  But his vision could only confirm what he himself willed to remember...   

Which explains why his memory, while fairly accurate in all other aspects, fell short of one thing.

Her face.  She was far more beautiful than he had ever seen her.  But then again, perhaps he had never really looked that hard before... 

He raised an eyebrow.  "Do you remember Makimachi?"

She frowned at him, watching his expression closely.  "Remember what?"   

"A fair shadow that follows the light will always lose her way in the dark..." 

She balled one fist at him.  "Cut the stupid poetry will ya, coz I'm not here to hear it!!!"

"Then what did you come here for to hear, Makimachi?"

The question almost made her lose her balance.  _What now Misao?_  

She narrowed her eyes.  "Frankly... I don't know!!!"

"You don't know?" he asked her coolly, eyes not leaving her face.  "You better figure that out, Makimachi, because I'm not the kind who'd tolerate people who have no business interfering with my mission..." 

"No business???" she stamped one foot.  "Look here Shinomori, I really don't know what your goddamned mission is, but as far as mine's concerned, I can't let you kill Himura, and that's that!!!  So if you have any problem with the way I handle things here, I suggest you shut up or I'd let my magnum here do the talking!!!"

He gave a low chuckle, eyes showing no other emotion but indifference.

And pity.

She flinched.  Why should he?  

The nerve... That he should treat her less seriously than she deserved... 

He moved a step closer and she was forced to move back, eyes wavering between shock, and anger, at his being able to make her so deliberately... submissive.

"You sound so certain about your convictions..." he told her tonelessly, passive eyes brushing aside the presence of her weapon.   "But as you might as well realize, being certain has nothing to do with being closer to the truth..." 

Misao glared at him, raising the nozzle an inch higher to remind him that her height would in no way, make her aim less dangerous and effective.

"The truth?" she glared back, trying to keep her eyes from misting.  "You think you know the truth but the truth is, you don't know anything about it, Aoshi Shinomori!!!!  The truth is, when my father took you in, he had so much faith in you, so much heart to believe that you'll be the one to finish the fight that he  started and stood for... He thought you knew what the JIB's like, the corruption... all those rotten politicians trying to use anyone who might be blind enough to want to be used for their selfish motives... I know it all sounds like crap to you now, but my father's right.  The JIB's not the same one he worked for, and died for.  And the painful thing is, you're working for the same people who'd use Miyu Tsukiyama to get to you and make you kill Himura!!!"

"You godddamn shut your mouth, Makimachi..." he told her, knuckles raised as if to hit her.  "You goddamn shut your fucking mouth before I lose the urge not to remember you so well!!!"

She stepped back, staring at his eyes, not wanting to believe what she, in fact, heard only so well.  

Those words...

They hit hard and they hit home.

The urge not to remember her...

It was the same urge that drove her to him...

The urge not to let him forget...

And the urge not to remember him this way...

But it seems that even personal feelings have little sense where memories are concerned.

Because we remember only what we like.  And forget what we would rather not remember.

And she remembered all of him...

That was the problem.

All of him included this...

She aimed the nozzle right in front of his face, tears now threatening to spill as one thumb played with the trigger.

"You fucking bastard... you don't know what I've been through to get this far..."

_Or near..._

_Just near enough to see you again..._

She edged closer, staring him full in the face, brushing aside thoughts that could have made her knees go weak at some other occasion... 

"Demo... if I have to kill you to get you away from Himura, Aoshi Shinomori... " she took in one deep breath, one hand going to his waist to snatch the kodachi from its sheath.  "... never make a mistake to provoke me, because I will..."

The voice, the poise, those words said so simply and bluntly in defense... Shinomori rarely saw the reason to observe beyond what is needed, but for the first time, he can't help it.   Perhaps it was because the girl he had known since childhood had, until now, been fairly predictable.   He knew for a fact that Misao Makimachi, had always sided with Himura—or Shinta, the innocent child that he was back then—during those days, when all three of them trained under the old man, no less than General Makimachi himself.  But he didn't—no, never even thought—that she would be so touched, so provoked, so aroused by the need to defend this childhood friend, that she would swear to kill another without the least hesitation.  To some extent, her attitude only served to remind him even more clearly, and poignantly, of the man—or the boy—the "baka deshi" who had earned that title because he always got into trouble with the Master, for allowing the girl to intrude into his training.  And yet, he was certain even then, that Shinta was no ordinary boy.  And even if he allowed girls like Misao to banter and bruise him the way they wanted, he was a fighter that will not be intimidated when the real challenge comes.

Then, one day, officers came to pick him up and he thought he will never see him again.

He was wrong.     

Five years later, when he entered a JIB military training facility after General Makimachi's death, he heard that Shinta had joined an elite JIB intelligence unit commanded by no less than Admiral Hiko and General Katsura.  Two years later, he was to learn that Shinta had mysteriously disappeared, replaced by someone by the name of Battousai who had been appointed head of a new special operations unit.  The following year, he was to learn that Shinta and Battousai were one and the same.

He was just eighteen years old then.  And Himura could not have been more than two years older...                       

It was also around that time when he met an agent by the name of Miyu Tsukiyama.  At least four years his senior, she was one of those tactical operations specialists who had been assigned to give them a month's training in the technicalities of intelligence networking and tactical procedures.

She was brilliant.  And always, consistently indifferent.

Thinking about it, she reminded him of Battousai... or at least the person he met in her office when he came to deliver his report.

He did not only look different.  Shinomori realized that Battousai, was in fact, an entirely different person:  long red hair tied in a high tail, black, closed-collar coat hugging his thin frame, violet eyes that shimmered amber whenever their eyes met.     

He was far from the boy Misao might have known and even, perhaps, loved far better than she knew...

And yet... 

To say that, was almost to harbor a nostalgia for the past that had never been too familiar with him in the first place.  Besides, he would have to admit that Misao Makimachi's feelings are a personal matter that hardly requires his comprehension, much less his approval... After all, the girl had been nothing to him... nothing more but a reminder of a time of greater things.  She reminded him of his father, his Master, and a life where loyalty resided in idealisms, and convictions, rather than people, and politics.   She reminded him of innocent days when relationships were bound by honor and trust, rather than self-interest and revenge.     

And deny as he might, she reminded him of days when there was no reason to love, no reason to hate, no passion great enough to make him want to kill in the name of either one.

In other words, she reminded him of a time long gone when he and Shinta were nothing but kindred spirits bound by one objective—to change the world.               

Too bad they almost did that, by folly rather than wisdom...

As for any memory of his, concerning Misao Makimachi herself...

There was nothing to make her deserve even his respect.  To say the least, she was something he could discard along with those other memories that served no purpose but remained, much like scars that mark old wounds and nothing more.  Still, for some strange reason, he could not help feeling that the fact that they should meet right here, right now, was a reminder in itself, a warning, that the things you bury alive, never truly die.  

Perhaps Misao Makimachi was part of that—a life not completely lived but buried.   That the girl should, in fact, be standing before him now, swearing affection for the same boy who had nothing in common with the ex-assassin save the deep violet eyes that could make and break a little girl's heart is almost...

Absurd.

Perhaps because it was something to be envied... something he could not understand, or wanted to understand.

Something painfully familiar as well... 

As Miyu told him once, Himura was a man who only needed eyes to make love with...

And Battousai, the man who could make a woman less than herself for falling for it... 

               __

He could not say if Miyu was speaking from experience, but even that seemed irrelevant. 

_So foolish, you are, Makimachi... to think that your threats can have any measure of success against me.  That your foolish attachment to the man might make me change my mind even if I remember your childhood so well..._

_Is wishful thinking...    _

Their eyes met, and Misao moved back into the shadows, gun still trained at him, his kodachi held firmly in her other hand, wrapped in what appeared to be wrist guards.

That brought back more memories...  

Because it meant even she had not given up the traditional training outfit for the more stylish uniform of the JIB special ops unit. 

He chose not to remember beyond that. 

"So, is this your idea of an arrest?"

She matched his eyes with a cold glare.

"No.  This is far from just an 'idea' Shinomori... Unlike you, my objectives don't always come from above, because I don't give a damn about them anymore... All I know is that somebody wants you to kill Himura and I can't let you do that..."

He laughed at having to hear those threats over and over again, but it was a laugh that dripped with sarcasm.  He saw her flinch.

"Kill Himura.  You think it's all that simple?  You know that whether I have orders or not, I will kill him when I decide it's time for him to die."

She shook her head at him.  "You say that often enough, but I doubt whether you're convincing anyone but yourself.  You hate Himura, but I can't figure why you wanted to kill him.  I hate cops but that doesn't make me a cop killer—well, not yet at least.  So why are you so damn obsessed in killing him?  Just what is it that Himura has that you hate the most?"

He turned to her, ignoring the nozzle of her gun.  "What he has concerns me the least.  You would be so naïve to think that a man could be so motivated by mere jealousy..."

"That so?  Not even Miyu Tsukiyama?  I heard she and Himura were 'friends' and could've been more, even if it's just from her side of things..."

"I could only care less."

"You always think you don't care, but goddamit, Aoshi, I know you do!!!  What I don't know is whether it's worth all this mess..."

"Mess?  I call it ordered anarchy..."

"I call it bullshit.  You can't be so desperate to want to kill Himura even if you know why he—"

"—Why he's still alive?  General Makimachi trained us for one thing:  to kill that which is a threat to us all... Defending humanity was never my notion of a career, but necessity can be very persuasive.  And you of all people should know what threat I'm talking about when I say this, don't you?"

Misao's eyes shot back, angry at the accusation.  "You're inventing all this to feed your insanity, you fucking bastard!!! To think that my father trusted you..."

She stopped.  He turned to face her and his eyes were not the same ones she had stared into moments ago.  Those eyes burned with frustrated rage.  These eyes were... almost...

Regretful.

Like he was trying to make her understand something he desperately needed to hide...  

_No.  Shinomori could not have feelings.  That was what made he and Himura almost... the same. _

He turned away, meeting her gaze sideways, through hair matted with rain.

"To think that I trusted nothing but the memory of your father... You give him less credit than he deserves... much the same way I almost did..."                          

She froze.  Shinomori had always been a quiet rebel, but even this did not prepare her to accept the fact that the father she respected and loved so well is the same man Shinomori would defend against her.  And Himura.

Shinomori started walking away, the moon casting flecks of light on his purple coat.

She was not going to let him ago.  Again.

"We're not finished yet, Shinomori!!! Don't you dare turn your back on someone who might be as eager to kill you..."

"I don't think so, Misao..."

"Don't call me Misao..."

It was all she could say to keep back the tears from spilling.  He had never called her by her first name, save that time when he—when she said her goodbye, and he laughed in her face because she was crying.

That was fifteen years ago.  She was six.  He was twelve.

So many things changed since then.

Except one thing, of course...   

He was looking at her with that same glazed expression, and there was no choice but to stare back.

In the next second, his fingertips were holding her chin, another hand holding away the magnum she had been holding against his face until that moment.

He cocked an eyebrow, and his face lighted up, like a grim statue that had nothing but a stony smile to offer.

"Then, Makimachi, should I fight you when you are least ready?  I don't think so..."

She felt him taking the kodachi from her, another twisting her wrist to get the magnum completely out of the way. 

"As you realize by now, Makimachi, you care more about the truth than killing me... And I know you know what I mean when I say that Himura is an enemy you shouldn't trust too eagerly..."

She flinched from his grasp, but his fingers were either too firm, or she was too distracted by his nearness to put in any real effort in the struggle.  

He drew back, but only to release her from the grip that he suspected was hurting her more than she was showing.

Her immediate reaction was to pull back, eyes burning with cold rage and something that almost looked like...

Humiliation? 

"I don't wanna hear the bull, Shinomori!!!  And the next time we meet, I swear you won't have the balls to even try touching me again!!!"

"Kill me if you find the opportunity then.  But like what I said, you can't hurt me unless I let you.  And this is not yet the time..."

A shot rang in the air.  Raindrops fizzled where the bullet hit the gravel, falling on dead tracks.

It barely missed his foot.

A shadow stood a few feet behind him, her gun effectively following his every move.  

Misao recognized the poise, if not the chuckle.  It could only be...

"You better stay away from her, you bastard, if you don't want me to shoot those balls faster than she can kick your ass!!!"

Sayo.  The arm that showed blood-red sleeves and a white veil wrapped against it was more than enough to confirm her suspicions.

This time, Shinomori moved.

And it was quicker than lightning.

Sayo stared back, almost shaken at realizing the way his kodachi sliced her gun in three places in less than a second it took her to breath.

Then he completely vanished—leaving her with a broken magnum and a girl staring after the shadow through eyes that seemed about just ready to cry.  

She needed a distraction.

"Don't tell me, Murasaki-san.  THAT was Shinomori, right?"

Misao turned to her, a large sweat drop beading on her forehead.  

Didn't the woman ever listen?

A sigh.

"Sure as hell Aki.  Demo... I thought you said you'd be busy tonight—with other things."

She chuckled, eyes fluttering excitedly.

Misao knew the lady could be disarmingly charming, but she wasn't the right sex to appreciate it.  She tapped her foot on the gravel.  "Well???"

Sayo practically beamed, completely throwing her off.  "Well, this is the 'other' thing, obviously.  Should we run after the knave or what?"

_Yeah, right.  Run after Shinomori... Running after the devil himself would be way easier..._

She stretched her arm down to the shoulder, giving the other woman a wry smile as she flexed her muscles.  "Sheesh, Aki, don't tell me he pissed you off THAT bad..."

Sayo literally fumed.  "Me pissed off?  I'm gonna kill that guy if I have the means to do it!!!"

"But as it appears, you don't.  So why don't we just discuss other things, while you're still figuring out what to do with that magnum...or what's left of it."

"Oh well... I was just wondering why you let him off so easily... After waiting this long to screw him in the face..."

Misao flinched—mentally, at least.  To think that she had, indeed, planned the meeting for so long... had allowed herself to get so close and for what?  Only to let him taunt her... to make her believe nothing but lies... 

Lies that Himura was the real enemy...

That was the problem.  She was starting to consider the idea that Himura WAS the enemy, when a couple of minutes ago, she was bent on protecting him, even when he probably had no idea why she should even bother...

Shinomori must be insane.  The only enemy her father had taught her to fight was the enemy that might as well come to replace humanity itself...

That would be the pre-cog clones...

Some of them worked for the government of course... But the profit from producing a dozen more who have the skills of the most adept—and the most potentially destructive, therefore—might just be too much a temptation to resist, both for underground syndicates, as well as corrupt politicians...

For Himura to be an enemy must mean of course several things...

Yet, it would be absurd to even consider...

Or is it...???

"Murasaki-san?"

Misao doubled over, wincing at Sayo's uncanny sense of timing.  "Uhmmm?"

"Are you thinking of something?"

"Me?" she asked, eyes wide with surprise.  _But of course..._

It was Sayo's turn to tap her foot.  Misao's mind screamed for something—anything to say.  

"I don't know Aki... Maybe... maybe... I'm just wondering why Aoshi didn't even think of slicing us both... Have you ever thought of that?"

Sayo peered into her face, eyes suddenly curious.

"What???  Did I say anything?"

A mischievous grin.  "Aoshi, huh???  I don't know you and he are so familiar..."

Misao almost fell on her face.  "Gods, is that all you can think of?  Why, I'm sure we've got better things to worry about... Besides, this is the last time you'd be hearing me say that stupid name..."

Aoshi Shinomori indeed.  She would have questions for him should they meet again.

And already, there is a way to make that happen.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

"Kenshin???"

Dark thoughts have been racing in his mind since that moment he pushed against the glass window of the Pre-cog Institute building and landed on a ledge leading to a staircase five flights from the ground.  It wasn't the safest place in the world to carry a burden more than half his weight, but he managed to swing himself and the girl out of Shinomori's line of fire until that_ other presence got in the way..._

_Aoshi__...  He closed his eyes and saw the image of a man he once fought and almost killed.  Ten years ago, was it that long ago, when the tracker met him face to face, to avenge the death of Miyu Tsukiyama? Miss Tsukiyama was an undercover agent who, like he and Shinomori, worked for the JIB as an infiltration unit specialist.  He had worked with Tsukiyama often enough before, but it was in one of his assignments as Battousai, that Tsukiyama had been instructed to serve as decoy, infiltrating the enemy camp to lure his "target" into the open.  Tsukiyama's cover, unfortunately, had been less than effective, and he was forced to abandon the mission, as he had been ordered, to save his unit.  _

He didn't follow his orders and pursued the enemy.  The target had been effectively disposed, but so was half of his men.  

Miyu Tsukiyama was one of them.

Since then, he had always worked alone.    

Then Shinomori...

He had hoped Shinomori would understand.  Missions require sacrifices, and sacrifices never come too easy on anyone.  But when had the heart been taught to understand things?  There was no reason behind the way people feel, in as much as there seems to be no reason in everything human...   

They've been enemies for ten years...  For ten years, Aoshi had neither forgiven nor forgotten.

Not that he expected otherwise.  Pasts can't be changed, just as human nature endures through eternity...

"Kenshin???"

He had to stop to breath.  But it wasn't that, really, which forced him to look into the direction of the voice.  

Something warm was on his cheek, touching his scar.  "Kenshin???  Is there something wrong?"

"Not really," he told her, blinking as he made a quick inspection of her condition, in search of bruises and other physical injuries.  For her part, Kaoru suspected that he had been blinking to keep away sleep.  In truth though, Kenshin could not help doing so to keep himself from staring into distraction, when looking in the other direction had been quite ineffective...  

Of course, in other occasions, he would let his mind drift into oblivion, into those thoughts that only made him realize how new his acquaintance had been with the mission, yet how far he had gone, into making enemies.  That, however, only bared more disturbing thoughts.  For one thing, it made him realize how the girl's safety depended not only on him, but on the strengths of those enemies who will stop at nothing to kill him, now that he had taken her.   That of course meant that should anything happen to him...

"You're not good at answering questions are you?" 

She was pouting at him, large sapphire blue eyes staring deeply into his, small lips puckered as if to say something, as he carried her in his arms. 

"Gomen.  It would seem like that wouldn't it?" 

Something in her frown made him want to smile.  

"Mou, Kenshin, saying something doesn't take up all that much effort does it?"  

He gave her a slight grin.  "Talk gets in the way of thinking, and I don't have that much to be happy about with someone like Shinomori hounding our backs."

She looked into his face, noticing the spark of seriousness in his eyes as he spoke.  

"Do you really worry all that much Kenshin?"  

"It's my job."

Her eyes were scrutinizing every inch of his face, betraying a curiosity tinged with concern, and just a little something that almost looked like... affection?

_Too young, too innocent, too pure to even consider me a danger to herself..._

"Demo, Kenshin..." she whispered, almost complaining, "how can you keep us alive by killing yourself worrying about other people?"  

He looked at her strangely, then into the distance ahead.  "Those 'other' people include you, Kamiya."

"Then why didn't you just leave me with Noburo-san?"

The answer was easy of course.  She was his hostage, nothing more.  Now that the JIB was after him, the only logical course was to use her to demand an arrangement for surrender that guarantees their safety in the hands of the proper authorities.  But even THAT is getting muddled by the second.  What do the authorities care if she was taken as hostage?  They know very well that her exposure to the public could bring more danger to them than good, and with suspicions regarding her possible connivance with rebel operatives working against the JIB, there is just the slightest chance that her surrender—as well as his—would end up in arrest and detention.  Add to that the fact that Shinomori, Saitoh, and Enishi all had been less than articulate in wanting her in their own custody and he would have more than enough reason to doubt the JIB's 'good' intentions... 

Of course, the drawback in all hostage situations was making unnecessary compromises when the offensive position would have been easier and more practical to take.  

And those compromises are exactly the thing that forced him to defend, and to run, if and when needed, to keep her safe...

To keep her safe, to protect her... the logic behind it is totally insupportable.

In situations he had encountered before, the life of a hostage has always been the least of priorities.  It follows therefore, that Kamiya should be merely instrumental to his safety, not the other way around.  

So what was in his mind, exactly, when he took her?  As he himself admitted, no logic would support the decision, and yet...

Her blue eyes stared at him, waiting for an answer.  He gulped, wondering how easy it seemed for her to make him feel just a little bit...

Queasy.  

He hadn't felt like it before, and it was a feeling he couldn't trust, as much as ignore.   He almost hated it, wanting it to go away the same way he could vanquish his fears by sucking it all in.  But this is something different.

_Different.  __I should be dead tired to even bother thinking about it this much.  But then again..._

Unperturbed depths stared back, blinking away sleep.

_She must be dead tired._

_So childish this one... and yet..._

She closed her eyes, finally giving in to sleep.  

He sighed, noticing how strangely her hand clutched the front of his undershirt tightly, like a child fearing to be parted.  He had to smile.  She looked so peaceful, small fingers balled tightly inside his black coat, undoing the buttons in the process so that the collar hung loosely on his chest now, cradling the smallness of her hand in a sort of protective way.

Who would suspect that such a small, fragile creature could be capable of wielding so much power?  He barely managed to control his, the amber inside him revealing only hints of how much control he had to consciously assert against the overwhelming compulsion to kill... 

How much more for someone like her, who had been trained to use such power all her life?  Saitoh said a lot of things about it, and so did Katsura, but he knew that they withheld so much more.

He had seen the girl attack an unarmed man back at the alley... had felt her struggle against death itself when they've been shot... and felt her presence inside him, cooling the liquid fire that burned his insides and numbed his brain, as he lay there under the lights of the operating table, trying to keep the effects of the poison from completely taking over...

He had been poisoned before—that other poison Takeda Kanryu's scientists had used a long time ago to enhance his own pre-cog abilities—but nothing felt like what he had to endure from the magnum bullet that pierced his shoulder...   

Given the fact that his 'unnatural' body could neutralize ordinary poisons, as Dr. Genzai's experiments revealed, he would have survived on his own, but... 

The magnum's poison had been created to resist even that...

In fact, the bullet was nothing but a matrix especially designed to carry a chemical substance that can easily kill a pre-cog with ten times his ability.

He would know of course, because he had been trained how to use such a weapon himself—that is, against a pre-cog who had defected to an anti-government syndicate and started leaking out important information about the location of all pre-cogs working for the JIB, and the world government...

He had been told that the bullet should only be used should the target show any indication of resisting primary force...

He had once fired seven bullets from the magnum—that was the primary force.

The target went down and was immediately taken to a military facility, for treatment and interrogation.

He was to learn later that the said pre-cog resisted arrest and had killed three JIB operatives in the process.

It was Shinomori who finished the job of course... He planted the eight bullet in the man's shoulder, and since the poison was designed to inhibit chemicals that allow the body to self-heal, the wound caused by the shot caused its victim to bleed to death...

A slow, painstaking process... since the shot missed a vital organ that could have made the death swifter, the patient was made to suffer the excruciatingly long process of blood loss...      

The original intention of course, was to temporarily disable the pre-cog and remove any threat that might endanger the lives of the JIB agents who must undertake the procedure of extracting information from the victim.  It was more a design of evil, or rather, revenge, that they also left him under an operating table to die after the interrogation was concluded.  

Not that any medical help would have saved him.  Once the poison had reached the blood stream, the entire system is paralyzed, even reversing specific body functions.  In other words, the body destroys its own immune system, inhibiting normal processes that assist in ANY form of recovery.  Even blood clotting becomes impossible, since the white blood cells are instead deployed by the system to destroy the very cellular matrices that keep out infections...          

 Medical intervention, in other words, would be utterly, a waste of talent.

Which is why he knew that Dr. Noburo and Dr. Takani could not have done anything to save his life without intervention from another source...  

So the answer to his question really had to do more with his personal reasons than anything...      

That is, he couldn't have left her behind like that, after she had saved his life...

_Nice Kenshin.  Just that insight and suddenly, Kamiya is no longer the same as those 'other' women you've met... _

_Not that you've ever looked at a woman before and after Tomoe, but then again Kamiya is not someone you've been trained to deal with..._

He cursed under his breath, suppressing the urge that was slowly eating its way into his thoughts. 

_Deal with her... that's the problem, I guess..._

_Because I've really no business being with her besides fulfilling those orders..._

_Then again, I don't feel like thinking about that just now._

_Because I might just have to kill someone if I do...___

He didn't know exactly whether it was that realization, or the feel of something stirring against him that made him flinch, brushing all thoughts aside.     

"Kenshin..."

He covered her up more tightly with the edges of his coat as he entered the underground parking lot of a building.  After locating the elevator he wanted, he reached out with one hand and began punching codes on a small screen. 

Static.

_I'm a mess, she's a mess, and this damn stupid door wouldn't budge..._

Before he could curse, the doors opened, and a voice from an intercom welcomed him.

"Shibaraku desu ne, Mr. Himura.  What can we—"

He punched another button and the floor of the elevator opened to reveal a secret passage below.

He entered the darkness and found himself in a second elevator underneath the first one.

Two elevators, that was the trick.  The first can be operated by any passenger wanting to access the upper levels of the building itself, while the other, which only opens from within the first one by a special code, only by specific JIB operatives whose headquarters lie in the basement of the building.         

There are twenty floors under that building.  Twenty floors, and only a handful of people in the JIB know it exists.       

Once inside the elevator, Kenshin pushed his weight against the wall and slid onto the floor, Kaoru's weight falling on his lap as he let exhaustion take over.

She stirred, whimpering slightly, new bruises showing where he had not seen them before, now that he can see her fully under the lights.       

She opened her eyes slightly, speech slurred with sleep.

"Kenshin?"

"Gomen.  Demo, I almost forgot about your wounds.  Would this be alright?"

She must have nodded an answer, or have fallen asleep, head falling on his shoulder heavily, her breathing shallow and regular beneath him. 

He sighed, wrapping her tightly against him.

_Sleep Kamiya... Things will be better in the morning I promise..._

. . . . . . . . . . .

"Dammit Toshima, I thought you had things under control.  What the fucking hell happened?"

The doctor would have jabbed Sano at the chest if he were not physically incapacitated to do so.  Beside him, Megumi hovered, checking his ribs for further damage.

The push and shove he had received from both Himura and Shinomori were almost fatal.  It was the latter though, who broke his rib, forcing him to drop out of the scene as the renegade tracker drew a magnum from his left leg and aimed at the assassin.

And missed.  Not that he felt happy for Himura about that.  All his concern was for the girl that the fucking bastard had to take with him.

Until now, he could not fully comprehend Himura's reasons.  The girl will most definitely slow him down, make his escape thrice if not ten times more difficult, especially with that deep bullet wound in his arm and shoulder.  More than that, there was really no reason for him to take her—the JIB wanted HIM dead, not her, and his taking her will just attract more attention than there already is.  And from what he knew about assassins, attention is the last they needed to survive.

So why the bastard's interest in Kamiya?

"Hey, I ask you a question and you daydream, you jerk!!!  Are you sure Megumi he didn't take a hit on the head too?  Seems to me one of his screws fell out."

"For God's sake quit the crap and get your ass moving, you worthless oaf!!!" Megumi told him acidly, all frowns on him as he threw her a smug grin.  She held a towel in one hand, and a tray of bandages in the other.  "Can't you see Toshima-san's hurt enough as it is???  And besides, don't you have other MORE important things to worry about?  Like explaining how we ended up here tonight in the first place?  I mean, what do we tell the security if they ask?"

Sano grinned even more, ignoring her sarcasm.  "Fuck the security, I think they might even thank us for being here.  They've obviously fouled up if they weren't able to put up even a decent struggle to keep Battousai's and Shinomori's butts outta here!!!  But since you're so concerned, I got an idea.  Let's just tell them a stupid sentinel got worked up, short-circuited or something, went crazy, then started making a big mess.  Then you kitsune, just happened to be close by, making out with our dear Toshima here who was assigned to do some overtime work at the lab, and the two of you decided to take matters in your hands.  Then I came along, the jealous boyfriend—"

Megumi fumed.  "Boyfriend??!!  The nerve you've got you—"

"Mind if you don't interrupt?" Sano glibly asked, pointing with his index finger to the air.  "As I was saying, I came along, knocked the air out of this airhead for all the unholy things he did to you in the dark, things got a little outta hand, and well, that's about it." 

"THAT's your idea?" Megumi asked, giving him the eye.  "How do you care to explain the fact that the elevators have all been jammed, the windows smashed into bits and pieces everywhere, oh and the exit ladder in the right wing had been cut off the whole building by a sword?"

"Well, let's just say there's nothing this handsome hunk wouldn't do to defend a two-timing kitsune from the clutches of an indecent lover, whaddya think???  OWWW!!!!"

"That's what you get for being such a jerk, you pervert!!!" Megumi told him, eyes narrowing into tiny slits, right hand fisted into a ball.  "I swear if you say one word of THAT to anyone, you'll have MORE than broken ribs to worry about!!!"

"Amen to that," Toshima added, both arms folded under his head, an amused smirk on his lips as he allowed his thoughts to stray for a moment at the bickering couple.

For a second, it made him suddenly feel slightly... jealous.  Sanosuke Sagara's cocky grin though, warned him that the lady doctor was in for more annoying insults.  

"Well, since you're obviously so eager to bash my balls, let's hear your story then, Miss Megumi Takani.  Any LESS brilliant ideas?"

He was laughing and Toshima, for the life of him, wondered how Sano could even feign optimism at a desperate situation like this one.

Perhaps, if he had any trait worth admiring, it would have to be that.

Megumi pushed Sano aside, bending down her patient's ribs to check for more injuries, hand going over to her long side bangs to sweep them aside as she worked.  "Well, I don't usually entertain assholes and pig-headed slime buckets like you, but since you insist, I might as well confess that some files are missing in the research lab, which suggests that somebody must have broken in, disarmed the sentinels, gassed the security personnel in the building, then escaped through the window by the time Toshima was able to call anyone for help.  I came with you because we just happened to be on our way to a –well—maybe a date, and I forgot my coat or something so I went back to the office to get it, and that's when we found Toshima-san unconscious on the floor.  But of course, I might have to add that our dear friend here wouldn't be in such a mess in the first place if you, the swashbuckling hero, wasn't too busy trying to get in my pants at the time it all happened.  So..." she straightened up all of a sudden, arms folded on her chest, eyes narrowing slyly "how about that for a story hmmm?"

For some reason, Toshima found himself blushing.  He had known Megumi to be terribly blunt and opinionated, but not in personal matters that required privacy.

Unless there was nothing really personal about her relationship with Sanosuke.  Soujiro must be exaggerating when he filled him in, on the details about the couple.

Now that he considered it, was it even proper to regard them as that?

"Hey, no fair, Takani!!!  I swear that story won't stand a chance against Kamatari.  That bitch is even more suspicious than you are!!!"

"Not if I can prove that some files ARE indeed missing.  The ones the Labyrinth wanted most especially..."

"You mean the files are with you, you lucky--"

She smugly nodded, one fingertip coyly locking on a strand of hair across her cheek as she laughed at Sano's open-mouthed expression of shock and surprise.  "Oh yes, Sanosuke.  Be a good boy and I might even share them with you."

"So I guess you've known all along?" Toshima asked, lips paling a shade lighter, as if the revelation had been a shock too dangerous or deep to express in words.

"About you? Is that what you mean?"

He coughed.  "And maybe a little bit more?"  

"Not exactly.  But I figured that the Labyrinth must have some contact from within the Precog Institute itself, for it to have any information on anything about the JIB's involvement with pre-cogs.  Actually there're practically too many personnel in here to narrow it down to any one individual, but then I noticed that you were too protective of Kamiya to have any deeper, shall we say, loyalty, for what the JIB's been doing, and besides, you weren't surprised on seeing Sanosuke.  He's from the JIB but you don't seem to mind he's nosing in on what happened.  That's where I started piecing things together.  I just knew that your being here is more than a "coincidence" of sorts, and that you're actually here on purpose—to find out Kamiya's condition, since Dr. Genzai's the only one Himura probably trusted.  You would know, of course, since records of Himura's correspondence with the doctor betrays that—and from there, you've probably surmised that if there's any place he'd run to if he needed help, it would be where he might find the doctor himself—the only one, I guess, who'd have enough authority not to be suspected by the JIB, though he's not being here might prove the contrary.  In any case, you must share Dr. Genzai's feelings for pre-cogs like Kamiya—your concern only shows too well, and if I didn't know a little about Himura myself, I would say you two looked worse than jealous love birds... Add to that the fact that the Labyrinth's network depends on Kamiya's precious contribution and, for that matter, on her safety and well-being, so it's easy to guess which allegiance will be convenient to such a person as yourself..."        

"Spoken like a real kitsune, heh, Takani?" Sano drawled, letting out a low whistle.  "The Labyrinth's really gonna be happy to have someone like you."

"On second thought, Sano," Megumi countered, a sly smile dancing on her lips.  "Why not?"

. . . . . . . . . . . 

She could not remember quite clearly when she had stood like this, naked, eyes to the moon as raindrops pelted her window, making trickling noises as slivers of light darted across the night sky, making her start.  Perhaps it had been two days ago... just two days in fact.  But it felt like weeks.

No.  Months.  She missed Kenshin terribly. And the feeling wouldn't go away, no matter how much martinis she drunk that night to make her sleep and drown in fevered dreams.

_If you would only call._  At least a call.  Just one call.  Gods, if there are gods out there, what would it take to make you listen to me?__

Her cell rang.  She was drunk and tipsy but she was there in two seconds.

"Kenshin?!!"

"Uh, this is Akira."  

An inaudible sigh.  "Oh, of course.  Is there a problem?"

"Mmmm, I dunno, just wanted to make sure you're okay.  You were dead drunk when we left the pub.  Are you sure you don't want—"

"Look, Akira-san, thanks for bringing me home.  I just got up and my head's killing me.  I'll talk to you in the morning, okay?"

"Yup.  Guess that's a good idea.  Sleep well Tomoe."

"You too.  Bye."

"Uh, hello?  Tomoe?"

"Hmm?  Forgot something?"

"I love you."

She froze.  Maybe her eagerness to hear those words from someone else made her imagine it.  She shook her head, trying to clear it, eyes swimming as she blinked back the tears that stung it when she first woke up, dead drunk and for that matter, nauseated, streaks of lightning making her wince when she realized she was alone in her room, surrounded in darkness, with nothing but the wind and the rain for company.

It was a dead room now.

_Kenshin__..._

It was cold.  So cold.  And empty.

_No, stop it, Tomoe!!!  Think Akira.  This is Akira, not Kenshin.  What's wrong with you? _

The sound of Akira's regular breathing made her realize that she was still holding the receiver.  "Hello?  Akira-san?  You still there?"

"Sorry about that Tomoe.  I'm still here."

Silence.

"Um, Tomoe—"

"--Akira-san--"

"Yeah?  You go first."

Tomoe cleared her throat, breathing heavily, closing her eyes as she mustered the courage to say it.  

"Gomen."  

Akira stiffened as a slight panic rose to his throat.  Gomen could mean a lot of things, and what it could mean after a confession could only be... "Look, Tomoe, forget what I said..."

She shook her head.  "Stop apologizing when we both know how insensitive I could be, spoiling your day by getting you and myself drunk like hell, not to mention babbling about my issues as if I'm the only one who's got something to talk about...  Demo, arigatou for all the help.  You're a real friend and I appreciate all that you've done—"

Akira smiled.  Tomoe was denying what she had heard, and the apology was just an excuse... Nevertheless...  

"Think nothing of it.  Had Himura-san called?"

"No."

Silence.

"You know I'll always be here."

"I know that, Akira-san.  And I won't forget."

"Right.  And don't worry about Himura-san so much.  He's a guy.  He can take care of himself."

An amused smirk.  She had no reason to make Akira feel more than his fair share of her misery, and a chuckle might be in order.

She chuckled.  "I'm a woman, and I can definitely take care of myself."

Akira felt relieved at the remark, laughing slightly.  "Forgive the sexist remark then, but as I've already said when you weren't listening, I love you Tomoe Yukishiro, and I'll be your friend whether you like it or not.  So don't get upset if you're stuck with me for the meantime—well, at least until Himura gets back."

She considered that, eyes crinkling.  "I heard you, Akira-san.  And I'd be upset if you forget for a single second that I'm a true friend too.  When I'm not so drunk at least. "

"I know."

"Good.  I'll remind you occasionally if you forget."

_Forget?  Akira knew what she meant.  Tomoe might have been referring to _her_ friendship, but it could also mean _his_.  If he were to insist on staying, it would only be as a friend, and to aspire for so much more is to court either stupidity, or the devil himself...  _

Friendship or nothing.  It was a cruel trade, and he had accepted the terms out of the desperation to be near... 

If only that was the entire reason.

But of course it wasn't.

Because despite what he thought was impossible, he fell in love with Tomoe.

He didn't believe in love and he wasn't a bachelor aching to be convinced otherwise.  But it happened.

There were regrets but...        

Strange as it seems, it was the way she loved Himura that mystified him, drawing him closer to dangerous grounds.

Not that he can choose things to be otherwise.  He had seen so many couples before, but something about Tomoe's dedication to Himura struck him as something almost... surreal.  Something stronger seems to bind her to him, and though he can't fully understand it as yet, he had always felt that Tomoe loved Himura so much more than he could ever love her in return... 

Not that he should even be concerned.  He could fall in love with other women of course—there are dozens out there and he had been dating like any single, normal guy would.  He would admit he's not exactly a match for Himura's good looks, but in terms of other things that matter—intelligence, money and reputation, he could say he's not one to worry about staying alone and single for long.  He thought that maybe, given some time and opportunity, Tomoe would notice his feelings, but if her falling in love with him didn't happen before she met Himura, now, it was nowhere close to even becoming a remote possibility...

No.  She told him how courting death would be easier than forgetting the man she vowed to love all her life.

"Akira-san?"

"Hai?"

"Arigatou.  I can't say much for now, but--"

_But...__ Everything between them, it seems, comes down to this little word.  _But_.   Akira sighed, and knew it wouldn't be the last.       _

"But you'll let me drop by your apartment tomorrow to check up on you, right?  And quit worrying about work.  The office will survive without you for a day or so, so stay put and be a good girl while Himura's gone, okay?"

She smiled as she had always had.  As Akira would always have her do.  If she could have a guardian angel on earth, it would have to be him.  The ever-reliable, Akira.  She could only vaguely wonder why until now, he had not had a single, serious, relationship.  He would have been perfect—but of course, that's on his own.  Because if she would have to compare things from her perspective, the perfect man could only be—

"Uhum... are you napping so soon?"

She laughed genuinely this time, wondering how that remark embarrassed her, almost making her blush.  Perhaps because it was the first time she had been aware of considering Akira from any angle other than platonic.  She dismissed the idea as quickly as it came.  

"Right, Mr. Nice Guy—as if I needed reminding.  Kenshin's got nothing to worry about, I'm sure, so long as you're here to scare away all the bad guys right?"

"Huh, you won't be able to afford me, Yukishiro, if I were your bodyguard!" 

"Oh?  How about two dinners and a movie?  Fair deal?"

"I'll think about it."

"Greedy."

"If that's how you see it, then I don't have any other choice, do I?  So I guess I must ready myself for a dinner at the Bayview Palace tomorrow."         

_The _Bayview___Palace...  She knew the hotel, and knew that most of their rich clients preferred the place for business meetings and special occasions.  _

But it was not that which made it particularly familiar.

It was the fact that just two days ago, Kenshin took her there to propose.  She remembered how he slipped the white band onto her ring finger and promised that he would make her happy.

Remembering it now, she felt a cold shiver up her spine, hearing his voice inside her head in a sort of dreamy way, the words fading out slowly, becoming nothing more than an echo...

It felt like waking up from a dream and remembering nothing but the strangeness of the dream.     

She had to wake up...

"Bayview Palace then, tomorrow, about eight."   

Akira nodded.  "Sounds good to me.  I'll see you then."

"Hai."

That was the last word between them before the nagging silence returned to haunt her.  

Tomoe cradled the phone to her chest, eyes turning to the only sound outside her window.

It was still raining, but this time, she felt the trickles on her cheeks as cold air shook her bare calves, making her flinch and grab the nearest blanket she could find.

_Kenshin__..._

She fell to her knees, hugging the blanket to her chest as she wept.

It would be the longest night in the world.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

Kenshin looked around, waiting for memories to fill in details that needed to be remembered.  The room on his right.  It must be it.     

They were already in the building—technically, a basement that is an entire building complex in itself—twenty floors under the ground.  The facility had been abandoned after the JIB unit he had been working for was legally dismantled.  Of course, that didn't signify that everything about the operations of the unit had been disclosed to the public, even to the intelligence wing of the JIB military police.  Irony of ironies, the existence of his unit had been so effectively hidden that no intelligence spy to date had been able to even guess, as much as investigate the possibility of the facility ever existing anywhere in Japan.

The reason?  The only people who knew of its existence had somehow simply disappeared, or had been effectively disposed of—whichever applies.

Save him.  And a man he refused to remember.        

He kicked a door open and carried the sleeper in his arms into a lighted room, towards a large bed with bundles of pillows and soft cushions to make it all the more appealing.  The sight in fact, almost made him squirm, the implications even more as he stood in the middle of the room contemplating the size of the bed and how it would fit his purpose, oblivious of the fact that Kaoru was looking up at him, fully awake and blushing like hell.   

For a military facility that looked every bit like it when they first arrived, the bedroom was shockingly elegant, and... 

Pink?  She squirmed a little out of his arms to get a better view.

That was when he noticed she was awake.

"There are other rooms in the building but this one's the most accessible to everything that's important...  I'm taking the room just across this one, so you can have some privacy... "

"It doesn't look like you've been here before, have you?"

He was still looking around, obviously preoccupied by something.  He strained his eyes to stare into a cabinet at the far end of the room.

"No.  Only important people are given this much luxury when they needed to stay here for a couple of weeks."

It was obvious to her that he didn't in the least, consider himself important, and she was about ready to pout about that when he walked towards the cabinet and smiled.

"What?"               

"Bandages..."

She pouted even more.

"Can't you ever think of me in ANY other way, Kenshin?  It seems that whenever you look at me, all you see is a girl that needs a lot of bandaging and I can use my legs too, for a change."  

He gave her a quizzical look, making her smile wryly, despite her struggle to keep the frown.

"You can put me down, I mean."

He did just that.

She smiled at him when he looked up, making him blush when their eyes met.

It was enough to make him stumble back, almost tripping on his own foot.   

_This isn't working Kenshin.  She may be your hostage but right now, you're obviously more trapped in this than she is..._

_And to think that all she ever did was smile... Imagine if she should do something more like what Tomoe would have done in a bedroom like this... especially when you're too busy pretending you're thinking about something else...        _

That was unnerving.  He had to cough just to keep himself from uttering a shameless "oro" the way he would whenever Tomoe would do something shocking.

Like feeling him up in one of those showers...     

Kaoru gave him a suspicious glare, arms akimbo as she stood on her bare feet, watching his color change into pale shades of red as he desperately tried to clear his head.

He gave her a blank stare, and an irrepressible urge to pummel him possessed her right there and then.  

"Geez, Kenshin... It's not like I'd want to know everything that's on your mind... I mean, even if I could, I'd rather not hear all your secrets..." 

He frowned—or tried at least.  _Secrets?__  Who said anything about secrets?_

But of course he knew...   

She peered into his face, forcing him to take just one tiny step backwards.  "Never mind, Kenshin.  Right now, talking is a lot easier than using the _backdoor, and besides, I know _you'd_ mind if I did..."      _

He smiled, remembering the word.   The _backdoor as she called it, was his own way of referring to that mind-link she often used to get into his thoughts when he wasn't too busy shielding.    _

Which is why it was a relief for him to know she wanted to use the normal route _this_ time.  He would have been shocked if she knew just what kind of thoughts he'd been entertaining lately.

_*Yeah right, you jerk.  And here I thought you weren't interested in the opposite sex... even if they were just cute little half-naked girls..._

_Stop that!!!  Demo, what do you mean..._

For a single second, he became aware of the fact that not only was Kamiya barefoot, but that she was almost naked to him, standing in the same white hospital gown that she wore since they escaped from the Institute, the thin white fabric clinging transparently to her small body to incite ungodly fantasies about what's hidden beneath.

_Gods!!!  And to think he had been staring at her like that, with god-knows-what lurking in the innermost unwanted recesses of his mind..._

Wordlessly, he began to unbutton the rest of his coat and prepared to take it off.

But a hand stopped him mid-way.

"Look Kenshin, I'm not THAT cold and besides, your arm's still bleeding..."       

He looked at his arm indifferently, noticing the spot caked with blood.  "Gomen.  I'd admit it's a bit messy, isn't it?."

She tiptoed closer, eyeing him glumly.  "It's not a mess, it's a wound and it needs to be treated!!!"

"Sumanu.   Demo, that could wait..."

He said it so matter-of-factly that she felt like punching him in the face.  The ex-assassin could be so unbelievably dense and stubborn in matters concerning his own welfare.

He had always been like that.

But that doesn't mean she would just stand by and watch him worry about her to the utter neglect of his own personal well-being.

No.    

He had to blink.  "Nan desu ka, Kamiya?"   

"Give me your arm."

He stared back at her in disbelief.  She giving him orders?    

She tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her gown and rolled it around the palm of her hand.  "Let me see that arm Kenshin.  Now."

"Kamiya, this isn't the time for—"

Flecks of amber shimmered in her eyes as she peered into his face.  "Now, Kenshin."

_This isn't working as it's supposed to... demo..._

Her face was mere inches from his, eyes trained on the wound like a veteran, her slim fingers plucking off the tattered mess of bandages dangling on his arm and shoulder, with as much gentleness as butterfly wings touching skin.

_Demo..._

She was handling him like he was as fragile and pure as glass...

And he wasn't even worthy of those thoughts...

He ripped the bandages from the shoulder, surprising her with the abruptness of the gesture.

"It should make your task easy."

"I'm not complaining."

He noticed the edge in her voice and regretted the unknown compulsion that suddenly made him so ... cold to her.  

"You should go back to sleep, Kamiya."

She glanced up at him, and saw that he was looking straight ahead, pretending she wasn't even in the same room.  She had a mind to pull the bandage just a little tighter to remind him of certain things...  

His face didn't even twitch the slightest.  

"Look, Kenshin, you can carry me to bed as soon as we're done if that would make you happy!!!"

This time, he blushed a beet red.

"Surely, that's not exactly what I meant, Kamiya..."

"Surely, you're aware that I've been sleeping for hours, Kenshin, so sit still and let me do this.  Then you can go sleep yourself because you look a lot worse than hell..."    

"You don't know what hell looks like.  This is nothing but a scratch."

"Quit pretending like you're superman because nobody's expecting you to be one."

He looked away, seeing her eyes mist as she minced those words.  Indeed, the girl can be so childishly concerned about something so... trivial.  But of course, it was not entirely a bad attribute. 

"No.  But we've got dangerous enemies.  I'm sure you haven't forgotten that..."

"No.  When you make it a point to remind me with your constant worrying."

He sighed, throwing her a momentary glance.  "I told you.  It's part of the job."

"I told you.  I'm not going to let you get yourself killed."

"I won't die.  I wish I could, but things hardly work that way.  So long as my skills are still effective--"

Without warning, she pulled his collar to her, cutting him off by forcing him to look into her eyes and understand, even for a single second, why his life seemed so important to her...  

The soft urgency in her face made it impossible to look anywhere else.

Then, before he knew it, she was falling...

He caught her hand when she fell against him, her weight crushing the air between them.

"Kaoru..." 

His hand was cold as ice, nothing close to the warmth she felt when she touched his wounds, making her wonder why she should even be aware of the difference.  

Even his eyes were warmer...

She was leaning towards him, and Kenshin, trapped between falling on the floor to support her weight on him, and pushing her backwards to the floor the way his instincts would, when attacked, decided that the former would be the better alternative because it was less disturbing... 

And of course, given her physical condition, it was the only position that would hurt her the least ...      

"I know why they sent you, Kenshin... and why, even when I tried to stop it, I allowed you to find me...  to put you in danger even when that wasn't necessary..."  

"Look, Kaoru..."

"Kenshin..." She cut him off, one hand pressing on his chest.

He stopped.  Her eyes shimmered with an all-too-familiar shade of amber, specks of blue receding into hollow depths that seemed to pull him farther and farther into that other consciousness...

He felt his body separate, like some part of him had to sleep to keep the other part of him awake, and that part that remained conscious was spinning uncontrollably into a darkness that led him closer and closer to this other awareness...

Then he saw her—or rather—felt her—but he was no longer aware how, or where, and why...

All he knew was that he needed to listen. 

_Kenshin__..._

He would know that voice anywhere.

_Kaoru...???_

_Gomen__... this is the only way we could talk without anyone hearing..._

Anyone hearing?  Though he was certain Kamiya wasn't hallucinating, he could guarantee that they've been alone for several hours now, since Shinomori's unsuccessful attack... 

A cool hand seemed to touch his forehead, forcing his body—if he can still find where that is—to relax. 

_It's alright Kenshin.  You don't have to worry so much anymore... There's nothing I would do to hurt you..._

He froze.  Hurt him?  Kamiya?  The thought alone was enough to make him....

Afraid.  More for her, or what his instincts might do to her if she attacked, rather than what she can do to him when she does.    

And yet...

If she should hurt him... would he be able to defend?

By now, she would have realized his secret. The fact that he himself had special abilities, was something only two people knew about.  Dr. Genzai, and that man...

Seijuro Hiko.  The man he would rather forget if he could.  He remembered it well how Hiko saved him from Takeda Kanryu's experiments, only to deliver him to the JIB intelligence to be used as a weapon.  One of those people who trained him included General Makimachi, in fact...     

_Kenshin__?_

Her voice broke into his thoughts, forcing him to listen. 

_You're tired, Kamiya.  We can talk in the morning when you're better rested..._

_There's no time, Kenshin!!!  Demo... I want you to know that I trust you... And I know you'll do everything you can to stop anyone from completing the experiment..._

_I don't understand..._

_Listen__ Kenshin.  You and I...       _

. . . . . . . . . .

"Termination was successful, General Katsura."

He had his back turned to the console that read her vital signs, indicating that as far as Kamiya's safety is concerned, there is little to worry about.  What he found more distressing was the fact that she tried to channel a mind-link from a different area of awareness in her brain—a process entirely novel that impressed him, as much as it shocked and disturbed those who had been observing her actions.  Actually, ever since she had been disconnected from Enishi's laboratory, the higher authorities were only too eager to proceed with the original plan.  And although their ability to trace the girl's location had been increasingly difficult since she came into contact with Himura, he knew that so long as she stayed with him, they would be able to complete the inputs needed for the new prototype.

At least before Enishi and his underground cohorts can come up with their own, even if it was bound to be an inferior copy of the pre-cog...  

"Have there been any readings of their location, Lt. Seiji?"

"None sir.  Our scientists are doing their best to re-establish neural pulse connections, but so far, no results have yet been reported."

"I see.  And have you tried contacting the Admiral?  He should be able to help us in some way..."

"Yes sir, but he hasn't returned any of our calls.  His secretary informed us though, that he won't be back from Switzerland until next week, sir."

"That so?  Will you please tell Dr. Genzai to step into my office as soon as he has time?  I'm sure Kamiya won't be giving him unnecessary trouble for the night.  And I'm interested in seeing a transcript of that interaction, so tell the doctor to bring it with him."    

"Yes sir, he shall be told, sir."

"Very well."

. . . . . . . . . .

                     __

Morning.  Megumi found herself at Kamatari's office, mind sifting through a dozen memories of last night.

"That's bullshit."

Megumi threw a look at her superior, eyebrows raised in discomfort.  "Pardon me?"

Kamatari snickered, gazing at the wall where Megumi had been looking before the conversation started.  "I was talking about the painting.  You seem to have a peculiar interest in nudes."

Megumi frowned, but with a smirk.  "I was thinking of something else.  Actually, I'm not the artistic type."

"Oh."

"So why do you have to see me?  Anything urgent?"

Kamatari's deep green eyes flickered.  "You know very well why.  You were at the Institute last night.  You reported a while ago that some files were missing.  I've just read the police report on the break-in, and I'm slightly curious about some of the details you've mentioned to the police."

Megumi cocked her head sideways, showing her best angle.  Kamatari seemed to notice her sudden nearness, but leaned backwards in her seat, perhaps to get a better view of her, perhaps to avoid possible contact.

Either way, Megumi knew that much about Kamatari to guess what the wo/manhave in mind...

"What details are we talking about?"

"You said you were with Sagara last night.  He's a JIB isn't he?  22nd division?"

"I guess so.  Is that a problem?"

Kamatari leaned towards Megumi, fingers gripping the edge of the table firmly, like a vise.  "I thought it was clear that JIB personnel are not supposed to intermingle under personal terms, Miss Takani.  There had been a precedent case that didn't turn out so good.  We don't want it happening again, do we?"

Changing the subject seems to be in order.  Megumi racked her brains for something to say...

"Are you talking about Shinomori?  So it wasn't all rumors, was it?"

It must have been effective.  Kamatari looked away, eyes suddenly distant, unfocused.  "No."

A realization just came to her.  It might not be the most logical question, but...

"Are you worried about Sagara?"

Kamatari leaned back, eyes searching hers unblinkingly.  "That ass?  Am I supposed to be worried about him Miss Takani?"

"What do you mean?"

Kamatari stood up and sat on the edge of the table across Megumi, face edging closer towards the doctor, eyes shining.  "Do you think I haven't figured it out?  Your real interest wasn't Sagara at all, but somebody I might have had my eyes on were he not such an exclusive JIB property..."

Megumi looked flustered, trying to read between the lines.  She couldn't understand any of it, and shook her head, this time, genuinely innocent of the accusation, if there was one.  "I don't think I have any personal knowledge of what you're talking about.  Even if I did, I don't think I know any more than you do..."

"Oh, come on, Takani.  Let's not play games anymore."

She stood up, but two hands on her shoulders kept her pinned to her seat.  "Don't you dare accuse me—"

""Tell me Megumi..." Kamatari seethed, face mere inches from her, cutting her off with a look that could make any lesser officer go weak in the knees.  "Was it nice having a chat with Mr. Himura?"

. . . . . . . . . . 

It smelled so nice... pine, musk, and something more earthy like the smell of moss and rain ... The scents seemed to be everywhere she turned, making her smile as she moved into something soft, warm, cozy...

"Kamiya?"

The voice was so gentle, so warm, so familiar...  She ached to hear it again.

"Kamiya?"

Warm hands touched her forehead, brushing against her hair.  She wanted so much to be held like that—touched like that.

"Kami—"

"Kenshin..." 

The hand stopped, leaving her skin.  She rubbed against the softness achingly, whimpering at the loss of that warmth.

"Don't leave... onegai..."

"Demo..."

She reached out for something blindly, her back arching forward, following a mysterious compulsion.  "Don't leave, onegai..."

_Demo... Kaoru..._

She smiled when she felt the sensation return, heating the chill in her body as fingers brushed against skin beneath her collar.  To savor it, she lowered her head towards the source of the warmth, pushing her cheek against the hand that lay immobile beside her face, as if frozen by the gesture.

_Stay with me...just a little while longer..._

A sigh.  Kenshin could hear her thoughts vaguely, whispering broken pleas in his mind, but for the life of him, didn't know whether he should follow her command and stay, or obey his instincts and leave.  Taking advantage of Kaoru's momentary confusion and delusion, due to the fever, would be unthinkable, so as much as he wanted to relieve her distress, his muscles locked, cooperating only with the most painful effort.  

Not that what she wanted was entirely against his will.  He knew that his own discomfort can only be eased by the same ministrations he was permitted to perform by touching her the way she wanted.

The way he wanted, since he held her last night.

It was a realization he wasn't prepared for, keeping him up the whole night.

He closed his eyes, letting his fingers stray contentedly on her cheek.  _Kamiya_... about last night... you were trying to--__

Something weak, almost incoherent, cut him off, drawing his attention all the more to the flutter of movement beside him, under the sheets.

_Stop...  make__ it stop Kenshin... It hurts... _

_Kamiya__... He took her arm and held it above her head, panic rising as she continued to respond limply to his urgent calls, head dropping listlessly on the pillows whenever he pulled her to him.   _

_It hurts so much, Kenshin... It hurts... _

Those were the same sensations that flooded her awareness that night, shock waves that racked and paralyzed her mind the moment she attempted to tell Kenshin everything—about the JIB, Katsura's involvement, the plans to manufacture pre-cog clones that surpass her abilities... She knew that the whole process relied on her link to the central network, her ability to manipulate connections within the matrices of that network to provide the clones with the input they needed to 'learn' from her abilities.  That was precisely the reason they drove her to find Kenshin, manipulated her mind-link with the former assassin to make it easier for her and him to fall into their trap.  The operation was called _interface_, and for what she had surmised back at Enishi Yukishiro's laboratory, it was the most effective means of teaching the clones all those things that humans do so well that was still far beyond the most complex programs to duplicate.

Things like instinct... emotion.... control... As a pre-cog, her interactions with human subjects would be significant in making them learn how to control and manipulate those same abilities they shared with her.  That had been the point of the experiment... the reason why she and Himura must be together... 

_Kenshin__..._

_Dammit__, she's burning with fever!!! he scolded himself, suddenly worried that she might be hurt in places he had overlooked.  Since last night, he had been unable to get any decent sleep, checking her over several times to assess the gravity of her physical injuries.  However, something else—something that have to do with their unfinished conversation—kept him distracted.  He had become aware that since that mind-link had been broken, he had been unable to reach her thoughts, her mind too much of a haze to indicate any thread of energy he could follow.  Now that he thought about it, he wondered whether or not there was any other explanation to it other than extreme physical exhaustion, and if there was, what he might do to deal with the effects.  _

Then again, his concern has also been on other things.  Like the fact that her struggling was causing his body to grow rigid, filling him with agonizing sensations that increased at the slightest contact.  

Those were things he preferred not to notice though, refusing his body the relief it craved, even when _that_ part of him relished the attention it was getting from her vigorous movements. 

_A cold shower will do it Kenshin.  And the sooner the better before you explode._

He would have sooner found a mental wall to bash his head on when she turned to him, eyes still closed, her abrupt movement flinging blankets and pillows around the bed, forcing him to hold her by the wrists to restrain her.  But the nearness only allowed him a better view of her flushed face, the beads of sweat damping her neck and chest, and the slightly parted pajama top which showed a generous mound of flesh and curve that swelled with her labored breathing.   

He could only think of one thing from thereon. 

"Wait here Kamiya, I'll go get you some water."

_Water... Kaoru could feel it in her mind, drowning the soft, gentle voice that called to her body in a language she hardly understood.  Immediately, she felt waves of warm liquid soothing her muscles, making her want to float atop the gentle crests weightlessly, feeling it wash over her skin, wash all over her battered body..._

To Kenshin's horror, Kaoru's fingers began fiddling the buttons of the long pajama top that, loosely fitting her small frame, gave way easily to the slight tugging it received.  Before he could do anything to stop her, the clothing completely fell away, exposing a generous expanse of white creamy skin that, in more urgent circumstances that warranted concern more than interest, would have been easy to ignore.  

He could deny interest.  But it would be more difficult now that she was too near, too intimately positioned against him on a bed that was designed for love-making. 

And this time, even thoughts of Tomoe didn't help.     

The only logical course of action that remained, then, would be to wake her up before she could do something out of the ordinary.

Before he could do something out of the ordinary.

Without thinking, he leaned over her and pinned her wrists to the bed, his body straddling her thighs to keep his weight from crushing her body. 

He looked at her that way, pinned beneath him, her soft struggles achingly testing his self-control.

_Open your eyes Kaoru, and look at me..._

Blue orbs looked up at him in an instant, questioning, confused, reacting to the intimate way he called out to her...   

"Kenshin?"

He looked at her, taking in her nearness, her smallness beneath him, the childish look she gave him as he sucked in his breath—the only thing he could do to keep himself from panting.  

She remained still, speechless, as if waiting for him to say something...

He closed his eyes, trying to reach her in his mind.

_You know what you can do Kaoru..._

She saw him through her mind's eye and felt his worried violet eyes on her, calling out desperately for her to respond.  But, try as she might, she could not penetrate the wall that forced her to remain in the cold quietness of the darkness around her, a darkness that kept her from reaching out to him.

_Dammit__, talk to me Kaoru!!!_

He felt her reluctance and pushed himself off her, landing on his elbow beside her on the bed.  Her passive response to say the least had shocked him.  The knowledge that she could have thrown him off with a single gesture, a single look the way she would respond to any intimate attack, forced him to accept fears he had tried vaguely to suppress.  

That she was hurt... hurt beyond understanding and helping, and therefore hurt beyond anything he might do to relieve it.  What nagged him of course, was the knowledge that he was largely the cause of that weakness—that if she had not given him most of the energy he needed to survive his own injuries, she would have had better chances of recovery.

And then there was also that abrupt closure last night.  He remembered how the mind-link forced him out without warning, terminating the conversation so abruptly it left him confused and dizzy, as if some force had physically attacked him.

Then again, that didn't sound too impossible... 

"Kamiya?"

She wanted to call out to him, to say what she knew was the reason for his concern.  But the pain... She knew that the pain last night had to do with her programming, had to do with the fact that she could control the clones as much as they control her, and through them, the JIB had been quite effective in monitoring her movements, even her thoughts.  Though she had enough abilities to shield her and Kenshin from most intrusions, she knew that somehow they found a way to effectively block any attempt on her part to override the program and reveal the nature of the experiment to anyone that might endanger its outcome.  In other words...

There is no way the JIB would let her tell Kenshin what he needed to hear...  

And this time, it was not just the pain that warned her...

_*It is useless to fight it, Kaoru Kamiya.  Whether you decide to kill him or not, Kenshin Himura will be eliminated at all costs...   _

She closed her eyes, gathering all her energy to lash at the unwanted presence that forced itself on her.

But it was stronger...  

_*I told you it will be useless.  My being here is just an example of how you might suffer should you continue to resist...  _

She felt a sudden pressure against her temple, stinging her with a pain that made her nauseous.  She blinked back the tears that came with the effort to suppress the sensation.

_Why can't you just leave him alone?_

_ *How can we, knowing that your connection to him threatens our very existence?_

She shook her head, feeling the anger rise to her throat.  

_That's bull.  The JIB knows I've done everything to make certain that Kenshin won't interfere.    _

_*You must mean Tomoe Yukishiro of course.  Demo, there's every reason to doubt that direct contact between you and Himura had not, already, begun to alter that possibility... _

_I don't understand... _

_*Human emotions can be so powerful, contaminating whatever it touched.  Your feelings for Kenshin Himura are no exception, and that is precisely what puts us, and the system, at risk.  Because of the mind-link you share with him and with the very system that binds us, it would be very easy for him to use you, in ways that may threaten our existence and very soon, that of every pre-cog clone on this planet.   Not that it meant our enemies will succeed, of course.  However, the human factor has always been unpredictable, and risks cannot be tolerated at this stage of the experiment..._

Kaoru felt her temple throb violently in response to the revelation, but her mental voice was as calm as death when she spoke.   

_Your reasons may make sense, but there are reasons that are simply unacceptable, no matter how much logic you put into it.  _

_*I don't think our program admits any argument for 'acceptability' Kaoru Kamiya.   Fact is not a matter of acceptance, which is why the human inability to change it inevitably leads to changing feelings towards it.  _

_Maybe.__  But I'm not changing my mind.  And it would be useless to try and make me.  _

_*Should we report that statement back to the General? It seems that you have made a final choice..._

_It does sound like that, doesn't it?  And if General Katsura wants to find Kenshin, he better look harder.  Cause there's no way I'm giving you--or anyone--that kind of information.            _

_*I see.  I admire you Kaoru Kamiya.  Your capacity to choose as you will, beyond the dictates of logic or purpose is perhaps, the only thing we might never understand.  But that is only natural, I suppose, since our primary task is to exceed your limits.                        _

_Is that so? she blurted, even if the nauseating pain only increased with the effort.  __You know I will do everything to stop you..._

_*And we know you will fail.  Statistical probabilities are after all, based on mathematical precision that predetermines chance or accident.  There is nothing you can do to change it.  This explains why your choice to cooperate or not, is almost irrelevant.  Nothing in what you choose to do, or not to do can alter the possibilities leading to your own termination, or Himura's.  Therefore, your resistance is nothing more than delaying the inevitable...       _

**_. . . . . . . . . .  ._**

"Dr. Genzai, please, take your seat..."

"I really prefer to remain standing, General Katsura.  I was told that you needed the transcript of the last recorded communications link we've established with Miss Kamiya."

"Very well, do you have it with you, Doctor?"

The old man shuffled papers in his bag, and handed the officer a blue folder.

"That's all we can get.  You know that we're still having problems with the transmission.  However, Kioku  was more successful in recording her interaction with Miss Kamiya, which again, provides stronger evidence that the link between prototype and clone is improving..."

"I see.  Are you certain that is all, Doctor?"

The old man hesitated, adjusting his glasses.  "All?  That depends on your expectations, General..."

The taller man stood up, and walked to the window of his office.  Outside, the busy streets of Tokyo hummed with the sound and energy that he could vaguely hear from behind the insulated walls of the building.

"You see, I was wondering if you can tell me anything about Himura.  I heard that you have had the opportunity of using him as a subject in one of your studies..."

"That was such a long time ago.  He was not yet Himura then."    

"Care to discuss some details of this study, Doctor?"

"I'm sure the IPTD journals have a lot more to say on the matter.  You see, I hardly keep track of such things myself, and my memory had suffered gross abuses in recent years to be able to give any accurate account of such inquiries."

"Good thing I did my homework then, Doctor" the General told him, dropping a booklet on the desk right in front of the old man.  "In an article you wrote fifteen years ago, you mentioned that one of your subjects exhibited exceptional skills resembling those of a pre-cog in every aspect save one.  Would you care to elaborate on that one aspect, even if only to humor my curiosity?  I'd really like to know."

The old man removed his glasses, giving the General a hard stare.  "I don't see any connection between this article you speak of, and Mr. Himura.  I think I deserve to be informed whether my statements will be taken as evidence of this connection."

"That will depend ultimately on what you are willing to disclose, Doctor.  And it is, as I've said, entirely up to you..."                      

. . . . . . . . . .  .

"Kamiya?"

She woke up with s start, feeling fingers on her chin let go, purple depths looking with so much worry, so much concern.  She had never seen that look before and vaguely wondered if it had been motivated by anything she might have done, any danger she might have made him believe...   

"Gomen, Kenshin, I didn't catch what you were saying.  I must be so sleepy I—"

He released her arm gently, allowing it to drop beside her on the bed, his eyes not leaving her face even when she had begun to blush like hell for not being able to finish her sentence.    

"There's something on your mind...Kenshin..."

He looked away, his profile lighting up as a sliver of light fell on it.  "Nothing.  You were talking in your sleep and I was worried.  That's all."     

She knew it wasn't everything, but...

"Kenshin..."

He turned to her and she was smiling with that wistful, half-hopeful, half-sad smile that touched him in ways he'd sometimes rather not think about.  

"...you might want to get some sleep, Kenshin.  You're so pale I can see daylight right through you..."

She tried to smile, hiding her own worry, relieved when his eyes grew wide with amusement at the suggestion.   In the next second, he was wrapping her tightly in a blanket, and in another, had pulled her into his arms to carry her halfway across the room. 

"Kenshin?"

"Hai?"

"I'm heavy. You might want to let me walk for a change."

He smiled, noticing that she hadn't forgotten THAT.  Not that he was even serious when he first mentioned it, even if only in his thoughts.

For some strange reason, he found it almost....

Funny.

"I doesn't bother me _that _much so stop worrying about your weight, Kamiya."

She pouted at him, looking away to hide her embarrassment.  "I'm not the one who's got unattended injuries anyway, so if I'm worried about anything, my weight would be the last on my list."

"Really now," he chuckled, catching her childish glare at him.  "So you wouldn't mind if I tell you you're actually heavy?"

She looked away, frowning, contradicting the obvious.  "No."

He smiled.  "Good.  Cause you're not.  In fact, you should eat a little more.  You're almost weightless."

She stared at him, watching his eyes take on a particular gravity when he reached out with one free hand into the cabinet and began taking out bandages.  

She felt very much like a corpse about to be mummified.

And yet...

It was hard to see his features, but she was almost certain about one thing.

He was _almost _smiling, and it felt good.

She snuggled deeper into his chest, surprising him with the feel of her head rubbing against bare skin.

"Comfortable aren't we?"

Another chuckle.  She felt like jabbing him, if she weren't worried about his arm.  "No.  Just sleepy.  I haven't had sleep for weeks.  Enishi made it a point to keep me awake every minute..."

Kenshin just had to breath sharply at the sound of his name.  Awake every minute?  How?

He tried to push indecent thoughts out of the way as she scowled at him.

"Not in the least close to THAT, I'm sure, Kenshin!!!!"

This time, he didn't immediately respond, and it made her nervous as tiny sparks of amber came and went in his eyes.  "I hope so.  For his sake."

She tried to smile, to brush away the hate in his eyes.  "You are SO nice, Kenshin.  You worry like an older brother, but it feels nice."

She snuggled more closely against his warmth as cold air brushed against her cheek, making her shiver.  Closing her eyes, she could only sigh contentedly, breathing in his scent.  To come this close, and yet hold back so much...

His hand went tighter around her frighteningly small body, firm but gentle as he adjusted her weight against him, wanting her to be in the most comfortable position, cradled in his arms just like that.

Just like that, in fact.  And he felt strange about it.  Like it was natural to just hold her close to him like this, and never let her go...

He frowned at that.  It wasn't right.  It couldn't be right.

But for now, he would have to do what was necessary.

He held her close.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

           

_      _

     __


End file.
